Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 903 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.12% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $1,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,505,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $183,898,000 after purchasing an additional 34,762 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 875,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,919,000 after purchasing an additional 9,928 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 753,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,515,000 after purchasing an additional 17,649 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 393,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,669,000 after purchasing an additional 59,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 334,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,555,000 after purchasing an additional 52,399 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WABC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

NASDAQ WABC opened at $49.67 on Wednesday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $59.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.95 and a 200-day moving average of $49.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 43.69%. The firm had revenue of $64.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million. As a group, analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.49%.

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.