Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 1st, 2023

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC – Free Report) by 202.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 381,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 255,570 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 1.42% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $16,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 220.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $115,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $147,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WABC has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $72.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, TheStreet cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 4th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock opened at $38.30 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 0.61. Westamerica Bancorporation has a one year low of $35.52 and a one year high of $63.86.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC – Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $79.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.67 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 23.10% and a net margin of 47.95%. Sell-side analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 8th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.31%.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

(Free Report)

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.