Westamerica Bancorporation Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.44 (NASDAQ:WABC)

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd.

Westamerica Bancorporation has increased its dividend payment by an average of 1.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Westamerica Bancorporation has a dividend payout ratio of 37.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Westamerica Bancorporation to earn $4.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.8%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

WABC opened at $47.44 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $47.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.11. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $35.52 and a 1 year high of $57.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.56.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.02). Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 48.35% and a return on equity of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $78.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.34 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Westamerica Bancorporation

In related news, CEO David L. Payne sold 11,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total value of $527,416.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 242,417 shares in the company, valued at $11,342,691.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO David L. Payne sold 11,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total value of $527,416.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 242,417 shares in the company, valued at $11,342,691.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $495,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 268,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,302,792.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,372 shares of company stock worth $1,074,481. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $57.00 price target (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Westamerica Bancorporation from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

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.