West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Now Covered by Analysts at Hovde Group

Hovde Group began coverage on shares of West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $25.50 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research raised West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.75.

West Bancorporation Trading Up 1.0%

West Bancorporation stock opened at $24.33 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.64. The company has a market cap of $412.15 million, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.82. West Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $17.31 and a 52-week high of $26.60. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.70 million. Analysts predict that West Bancorporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. West Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 52.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTBA. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in West Bancorporation by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in West Bancorporation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $464,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in West Bancorporation by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 17,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in West Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in West Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,006,000. 44.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Bancorporation Company 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.