American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 11.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,904,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 199,721 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 7.14% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $92,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 300,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,941,000 after purchasing an additional 18,297 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 782,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,155,000 after purchasing an additional 21,547 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 21.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 121,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,936,000 after purchasing an additional 21,624 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 124.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 26,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 14,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 70.2% during the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 252,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,326,000 after purchasing an additional 104,029 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ WABC opened at $49.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $51.26 and its 200 day moving average is $48.94.

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

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 29.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on WABC shares. Maxim Group downgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Company 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.