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

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd.

Westamerica Bancorporation has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Westamerica Bancorporation has a payout ratio of 36.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Stock Performance

WABC stock opened at $47.67 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.04 and a 200-day moving average of $49.22. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.52 and a fifty-two week high of $57.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.56.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $78.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.34 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 48.35% and a return on equity of 21.99%. Equities analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WABC. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a report on Monday, April 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westamerica Bancorporation news, SVP George S. Ensinger sold 635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.61, for a total value of $30,232.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,915.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO John A. Thorson sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $51,964.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP George S. Ensinger sold 635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.61, for a total value of $30,232.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,073 shares in the company, valued at $193,915.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.