West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $25.41 and traded as high as $28.58. West Bancorporation shares last traded at $28.25, with a volume of 42,269 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTBA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group raised their price target on West Bancorporation from $25.50 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered West Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Piper Sandler increased 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 restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.43. The company has a market capitalization of $489.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.71.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $28.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.15 million. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 15.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

West Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from West Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. West Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 46.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Bancorporation

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTBA. Basepoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in West Bancorporation by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC now owns 35,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in West Bancorporation by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in West Bancorporation by 1.7% in the fourth 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. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in West Bancorporation by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 15,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in West Bancorporation by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 37,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

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.