West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Stock: Insider Steven Gaer Sells 6,215 Shares

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Director Steven Gaer sold 6,215 shares of West Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.13, for a total value of $193,472.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,816.68. The trade was a 24.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

West Bancorporation stock opened at $30.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $520.35 million, a P/E ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.31. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.89 and a 52 week high of $31.85.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $29.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.95 million. Equities research analysts forecast that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 44.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WTBA shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of West Bancorporation from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of West Bancorporation from $25.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 3.1% during the third quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 15,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in West Bancorporation by 83.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position 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 worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 28,087 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in West Bancorporation by 28.8% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702 shares during the period. 44.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Bancorporation Company Profile

West Bancorporation, Inc (NASDAQ: WTBA) is a bank holding company headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. It operates primarily through West Bank, a community banking institution that provides financial services to businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations.

West Bank offers commercial and consumer lending, including commercial real estate, business, residential real estate and personal loans. Its deposit products include checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, while additional services include treasury management, online and mobile banking, cash management and trust or wealth management services.

Founded in 1893, West Bank serves communities primarily in central and eastern Iowa, with a presence in the Des Moines metropolitan area and other Iowa markets.