Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.44

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th.

Westamerica Bancorporation has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 32 consecutive years. Westamerica Bancorporation has a dividend payout ratio of 40.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Westamerica Bancorporation to earn $4.40 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 40.0%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WABC stock traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 81,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,944. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.04 and a 200-day moving average of $49.44. Westamerica Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $43.82 and a twelve month high of $58.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 0.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WABC shares. StockNews.com raised Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Maxim Group cut shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.00.

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.