Beverly Hills Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BHBCQ) vs. West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Critical Comparison

Beverly Hills Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BHBCQ) and West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Beverly Hills Bancorp and West Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Beverly Hills Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
West Bancorporation	0	2	0	0	2.00

West Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $20.50, suggesting a potential downside of 2.24%. Given Beverly Hills Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Beverly Hills Bancorp is more favorable than West Bancorporation.

Profitability

This table compares Beverly Hills Bancorp and West Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Beverly Hills Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
West Bancorporation	14.40%	12.26%	0.72%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

44.3% of West Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.0% of Beverly Hills Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of West Bancorporation shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Beverly Hills Bancorp and West Bancorporation”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Beverly Hills Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
West Bancorporation	$198.50 million	1.79	$24.05 million	$1.70	12.34

West Bancorporation has higher revenue and earnings than Beverly Hills Bancorp.

Summary

West Bancorporation beats Beverly Hills Bancorp on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Beverly Hills Bancorp

Beverly Hills Bancorp Inc. is a financial holding company and conducts its banking and lending operations through its primary subsidiary, First Bank of Beverly Hills. The Bank focuses on niche products, including the origination and acquisition of commercial and multi-family real estate loans. The Bank's principal funding sources consist of certificates of deposits generated through independent brokers and its money desk, borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and repurchase agreements with major investment banks. The Bank is a California state-chartered commercial bank and is regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.Beverly Hills Bancorp's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the trading symbol "BHBC".

About West Bancorporation

West Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the financial holding company provides community banking and trust services to individuals and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. It offers deposit services, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit. The company also provides loan products comprising commercial real estate loans, construction and land development loans, commercial lines of credit, and commercial term loans; consumer loans, including loans extended to individuals for household, family, and other personal expenditures not secured by real estate; and 1-4 family residential mortgages and home equity loans. In addition, it offers online and mobile banking, treasury management services including cash management, client-generated automated clearing house transactions, remote deposit, and fraud protection services; merchant credit card processing and corporate credit cards; and administration of estates, conservatorships, personal trusts, and agency accounts. The company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa.