Westamerica Bancorporation $WABC Shares Bought by Denali Advisors LLC

Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 505.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 89,444 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC owned about 0.41% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $5,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,847,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,531,000 after purchasing an additional 86,850 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,023,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 150,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,356 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 84,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,288,000 after purchasing an additional 18,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 72,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westamerica Bancorporation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WABC opened at $47.30 on Wednesday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $59.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.76 and a 200-day moving average of $48.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.04. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 43.19% and a return on equity of 13.10%. The firm had revenue of $64.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.20 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 40.09%.

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.