Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Short Interest Update

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 328,600 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the August 15th total of 275,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 122,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WABC has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Maxim Group cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westamerica Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WABC. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth $75,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at $113,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the first quarter valued at approximately $140,000. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 1.9 %

WABC opened at $49.98 on Monday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $41.89 and a fifty-two week high of $58.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.26 and its 200 day moving average is $48.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 0.55.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $79.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.28 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 47.12%. Research analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.73%.

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.