West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $29.44 and last traded at $29.39, with a volume of 11711 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Hovde Group boosted 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 report on Saturday, August 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on 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 reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a report on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Bancorporation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

West Bancorporation Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.72 and a 200-day moving average of $25.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $510.04 million, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.71.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $28.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from West Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.64%.

Institutional Trading of West Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTBA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in West Bancorporation by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 875,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,795,000 after purchasing an additional 37,502 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 354,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 14.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 58,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 7,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 46,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 1,366 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.