Raymond James & Associates Has $2.85 Million Stock Holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 14.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,624 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.22% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $2,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WABC. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.6% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 13.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 7.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.2% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 41,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,012,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 0.5 %

WABC stock opened at $51.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $41.89 and a 52-week high of $58.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.56.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 47.12% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The company had revenue of $79.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.28 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 29.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Maxim Group cut shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Profile

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.