West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $30.50 and last traded at $30.44, with a volume of 47,931 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WTBA shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of West Bancorporation from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Bancorporation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of West Bancorporation from $25.50 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $518.70 million, a P/E ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.01 and its 200 day moving average is $26.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The business had revenue of $28.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Bancorporation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its holdings in West Bancorporation by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 15,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in West Bancorporation by 83.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in West Bancorporation by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in West Bancorporation by 332.0% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 28,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in West Bancorporation by 28.8% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702 shares during the period. 44.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About West Bancorporation

West Bancorporation, Inc (NASDAQ: WTBA) is a bank holding company headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. It operates primarily through West Bank, a community banking institution that provides financial services to businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations.

West Bank offers commercial and consumer lending, including commercial real estate, business, residential real estate and personal loans. Its deposit products include checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, while additional services include treasury management, online and mobile banking, cash management and trust or wealth management services.

Founded in 1893, West Bank serves communities primarily in central and eastern Iowa, with a presence in the Des Moines metropolitan area and other Iowa markets.