Piper Sandler Cuts Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Price Target to $50.00

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Piper Sandler from $54.00 to $50.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

NASDAQ WABC traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $47.75. The stock had a trading volume of 149,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,582. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.58. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 0.63. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $59.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.07. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 44.55% and a return on equity of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $66.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. Equities analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Westamerica Bancorporation's payout ratio is 35.27%.

Institutional Trading of Westamerica Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WABC. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 815.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.89% of the company's stock.

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.