West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $21.33 and traded as high as $26.07. West Bancorporation shares last traded at $25.51, with a volume of 51,624 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WTBA. Zacks Research raised West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of West Bancorporation from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

West Bancorporation Stock Down 2.2%

The stock has a market cap of $432.14 million, a PE ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.26 and a 200-day moving average of $21.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $17.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.70 million. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 16.08%. Equities research analysts predict that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Bancorporation news, Director George D. Milligan sold 10,000 shares of West Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.71, for a total value of $217,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,863.45. The trade was a 15.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in West Bancorporation by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC now owns 35,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 28,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 30,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 37,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in West Bancorporation by 68.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

West Bancorporation Company Profile

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.