Choreo LLC Invests $256,000 in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.5% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.6% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 13.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.8% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WABC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Maxim Group cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WABC stock opened at $50.63 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 0.55. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $41.89 and a 1 year high of $58.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 47.12%. The firm had revenue of $79.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.28 million. Analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.