West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $23.76 and traded as high as $25.19. West Bancorporation shares last traded at $24.78, with a volume of 73,811 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WTBA. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of West Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, April 6th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $25.50 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of West Bancorporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.75.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.76. The company has a market capitalization of $421.95 million, a P/E ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.74.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $27.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.30 million. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.30% and a return on equity of 14.88%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WTBA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 4,593.5% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in West Bancorporation by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in West Bancorporation by 662.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in West Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at about $126,000. 44.30% of the stock is owned by 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.