Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Has $8.18 Million Stock Holdings in West Bancorporation, Inc. $WTBA

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 402,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 53,182 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 2.38% of West Bancorporation worth $8,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 157.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 662.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 20.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank raised its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 17.6% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 9,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTBA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTBA opened at $23.93 on Friday. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $26.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.91 and its 200-day moving average is $22.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm had revenue of $27.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.70 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.36%.

West Bancorporation 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.