Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC Sells 87,057 Shares of West Bancorporation, Inc. $WTBA

Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) by 67.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 87,057 shares during the quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in West Bancorporation were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in West Bancorporation by 4.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 875,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,795,000 after buying an additional 37,502 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 20.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank boosted its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. City State Bank now owns 9,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in West Bancorporation by 157.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. acquired a new stake in West Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. 44.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of West Bancorporation stock opened at $24.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.82. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $26.60. The firm has a market cap of $422.99 million, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.86.

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

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTBA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research upgraded West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

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.