West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $22.05 and traded as high as $24.67. West Bancorporation shares last traded at $24.45, with a volume of 66,023 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WTBA shares. Zacks Research raised shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note 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.com, West Bancorporation presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

West Bancorporation Stock Down 1.5%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $414.18 million, a PE ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.84.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last posted its earnings results 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. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The firm had revenue of $27.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. West Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 52.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in West Bancorporation by 4,593.5% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in West Bancorporation by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in West Bancorporation by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in West Bancorporation by 662.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.