Golden State Wealth Management LLC Invests $65,000 in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at $245,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at $238,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 1,601 shares during the period. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WABC opened at $50.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.57. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $44.05 and a 12 month high of $59.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 44.55%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 33.85%.

Westamerica Bancorporation 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.