West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $26.36 and traded as high as $28.71. West Bancorporation shares last traded at $28.37, with a volume of 60,291 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTBA. Hovde Group increased their price objective on West Bancorporation from $25.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Saturday, August 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of West Bancorporation from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised West Bancorporation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

West Bancorporation Trading Down 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $483.42 million, a P/E ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.93 and its 200-day moving average is $26.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

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

West Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Bancorporation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTBA. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in West Bancorporation by 332.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 28,087 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in West Bancorporation by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 7,702 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 42.0% during the first quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 14,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 4,345 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in West Bancorporation by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 404,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in West Bancorporation by 4.2% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

About West Bancorporation

West Bancorporation, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. Its principal subsidiary, West Bank, provides commercial banking services to businesses, agricultural customers, professionals and individuals.

West Bank’s products and services include commercial and real estate lending, agricultural loans, residential mortgage lending, consumer loans, deposit accounts, cash-management services, online and mobile banking, and trust and investment services. The bank also supports businesses through treasury-management and other financial services.

West Bancorporation traces its banking operations to the establishment of West Bank in 1893.