West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on West Bancorporation from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

West Bancorporation stock opened at $22.54 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $381.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.84. West Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $24.27.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $25.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.20 million. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 16.04%. As a group, analysts expect that West Bancorporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Bancorporation

In other West Bancorporation news, Director Douglas R. Gulling sold 7,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.75, for a total transaction of $171,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 72,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,573,351.50. This trade represents a 9.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George D. Milligan sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.71, for a total transaction of $217,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,863.45. This represents a 15.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 23,726 shares of company stock valued at $517,097 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Bancorporation

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in West Bancorporation by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 875,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,795,000 after acquiring an additional 37,502 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 15.2% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 402,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,182,000 after purchasing an additional 53,182 shares during the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of West Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at $1,918,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 14.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 58,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 7,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Bancorporation during the first quarter valued at $913,000. 44.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About West Bancorporation

West Bancorporation, Inc is the bank holding company for West Town Bank and Trust, a full-service community bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through its subsidiary, the company offers a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking products, including deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgages, business loans and treasury management services. West Bancorporation focuses on delivering personalized financial solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses, real estate developers and individual customers within its urban market.

Since launching operations in 2006, West Town Bank and Trust has steadily expanded its presence across the Chicago metropolitan area.