West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $22.54 and traded as high as $24.23. West Bancorporation shares last traded at $23.79, with a volume of 41,726 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

West Bancorporation Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a market cap of $403.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.54.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $27.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.70 million. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 14.28%. On average, equities analysts predict that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.36%.

Institutional Trading of West Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTBA. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 402,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,182,000 after purchasing an additional 53,182 shares during the period. Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new position in West Bancorporation during the third quarter worth approximately $1,918,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC lifted its stake in West Bancorporation by 1.3% in the third quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC now owns 35,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. purchased a new stake in West Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 15,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

About West Bancorporation

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.