Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.44 on February 14th

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 23rd,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd.

Westamerica Bancorporation has raised its dividend by an average of 2.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Westamerica Bancorporation has a dividend payout ratio of 43.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Westamerica Bancorporation to earn $3.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.6%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

NASDAQ:WABC opened at $51.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.26. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $43.82 and a 1-year high of $59.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.58.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 44.55%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.