Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 53,182 Shares of West Bancorporation, Inc. $WTBA

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) by 15.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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’s holdings in West Bancorporation were worth $8,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of West Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,006,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 875,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,795,000 after buying an additional 37,502 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in West Bancorporation in the 1st quarter worth about $464,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at about $389,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in West Bancorporation during the second quarter worth about $353,000. 44.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WTBA stock opened at $23.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $405.37 million, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $26.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.09.

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

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTBA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded 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 assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

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.