Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

WABC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock opened at $61.36 on Friday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $44.93 and a 1 year high of $63.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.51.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $62.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.60 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 41.71% and a return on equity of 12.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WABC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 36.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 48.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 86,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,505,000 after purchasing an additional 28,009 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at $887,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at $352,000. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westamerica Bancorporation Company Profile

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ: WABC) is a California-based bank holding company that provides a comprehensive suite of commercial banking, trust and wealth management services. Through its primary subsidiary, Westamerica Bank, the company offers deposit products, lending solutions and treasury management to a diverse clientele that includes small and mid-sized businesses, professionals, non-profit organizations and individuals.

The company’s lending portfolio encompasses commercial real estate financing, agricultural loans, equipment financing and lines of credit designed to support working capital needs.