Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

WABC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WABC opened at $45.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.51 and a beta of 0.56. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $35.52 and a 1 year high of $57.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.82 and a 200 day moving average of $48.98.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 23.61% and a net margin of 49.39%. The business had revenue of $80.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.03 million. Research analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total transaction of $746,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 288,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,362,277.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total value of $746,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,362,277.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 8,728 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $444,691.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 333,689 shares in the company, valued at $17,001,454.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $2,213,458. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,511 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 4,988 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 13,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 80,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,861,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

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.