Maxim Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC – Get Rating) in a research report released on Friday morning, TipRanks reports. Maxim Group currently has a $75.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.
Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WABC. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 23rd.
Shares of NASDAQ:WABC traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 186,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,036. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.23. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.59. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $53.24 and a 12-month high of $65.22.
Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 39.90% and a return on equity of 10.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 52.17%.
In related news, SVP George S. Ensinger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.60, for a total transaction of $58,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1,145.5% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Fieldpoint Private Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the first quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 9.5% in the third quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.
About Westamerica Bancorporation (Get Rating)
Westamerica Bancorporation operates as a bank holding company for the Westamerica Bank that provides various banking products and services to individual and commercial customers. The company accepts various deposit products, including retail savings and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.
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