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

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis 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% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 32 consecutive years. Westamerica Bancorporation has a payout ratio of 40.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of WABC traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.08. The 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 0.55. Westamerica Bancorporation has a one year low of $43.82 and a one year high of $58.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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