Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.44 on August 16th

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 25th, NASDAQ reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th.

Westamerica Bancorporation has raised its dividend by an average of 1.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 32 years. Westamerica Bancorporation has a payout ratio of 36.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Westamerica Bancorporation to earn $4.45 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 39.6%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WABC stock opened at $55.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.48. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $41.89 and a 1-year high of $58.49.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 47.12%. The business had revenue of $79.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.28 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WABC has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $57.00 price target (down from $58.00) on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Maxim Group cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Westamerica Bancorporation from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Westamerica Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $47.61, for a total value of $30,232.35. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.40% 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.