Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Short Interest Up 20.7% in November

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 223,300 shares, a growth of 20.7% from the November 15th total of 185,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 114,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Westamerica Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.8% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.5% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 27,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 64,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,124,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock opened at $55.92 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.57. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $43.82 and a 12 month high of $59.97.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.27. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 45.73% and a return on equity of 17.67%. The company had revenue of $74.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.74 million. On average, research analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

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.