West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $31.08 and last traded at $31.01, with a volume of 12,926 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

West Bancorporation Stock Up 2.3%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.18. The company has a market cap of $532.55 million, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67. The business had revenue of $29.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.95 million. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.09%. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. West Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 44.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 4.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its stake in West Bancorporation by 3.1% in the third quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 15,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 7,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

About West Bancorporation

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.