Kimelman & Baird LLC Acquires New Stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,512,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,693,000 after purchasing an additional 19,654 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,904,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,421,000 after buying an additional 199,721 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 861,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,801,000 after buying an additional 41,841 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 70.2% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 252,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,326,000 after buying an additional 104,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $9,733,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WABC. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Maxim Group downgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of WABC stock opened at $48.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.28 and a fifty-two week high of $58.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.20.

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

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.73%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Company 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.