Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.02), Yahoo Finance reports. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 48.35% and a return on equity of 22.79%. The business had revenue of $78.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.34 million.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of WABC stock opened at $46.78 on Friday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $35.52 and a twelve month high of $57.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.98.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 29.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westamerica Bancorporation news, CEO David L. Payne sold 8,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $444,691.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 333,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,001,454.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $495,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 268,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,302,792.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 8,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $444,691.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 333,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,001,454.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $2,213,458. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WABC. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 91.0% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 123.9% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $115,000. 81.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 19th.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

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.