West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $31.08 and last traded at $31.01, with a volume of 12,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

West Bancorporation Stock Up 4.2%

The stock has a market cap of $531.11 million, a P/E ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.10.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.67. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm had revenue of $29.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.95 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WTBA. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its position in West Bancorporation by 3.1% during the third quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 15,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in West Bancorporation by 83.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in West Bancorporation by 4.2% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased 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 worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 28,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in West Bancorporation by 28.8% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 44.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.