Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 4,834 Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 144,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,600,000 after buying an additional 5,368 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 103.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after purchasing an additional 26,871 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 37,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 393,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,669,000 after purchasing an additional 59,325 shares in the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John A. Thorson sold 2,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total transaction of $108,942.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,591 shares in the company, valued at $562,974.87. The trade was a 16.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.16, for a total transaction of $34,193.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ WABC opened at $50.60 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.46. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $42.00 and a 52 week high of $59.97.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $66.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.47 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 44.55% and a return on equity of 16.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Westamerica Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 36.87%.

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.