Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 4,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WABC. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.8% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 27,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 64,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,124,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

WABC stock opened at $52.30 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.24. Westamerica Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $43.82 and a twelve month high of $59.97.

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

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.