Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WABC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Westamerica Bancorporation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ WABC opened at $47.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.61. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $42.00 and a 1 year high of $59.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $48.76 and its 200 day moving average is $48.51.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $64.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.20 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 43.19%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westamerica Bancorporation

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WABC. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 64.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 14.8% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 23,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 150,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.5% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.