Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stock Position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,856 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.32% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $4,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WABC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,512,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,693,000 after buying an additional 19,654 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 782,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,155,000 after acquiring an additional 21,547 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 300,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,941,000 after purchasing an additional 18,297 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 104,029 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,733,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Maxim Group lowered Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WABC opened at $50.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 0.56. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $41.89 and a 52 week high of $58.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.33. 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 (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $79.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.28 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 47.12% and a return on equity of 20.17%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 29.73%.

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.