West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Earns Market Perform Rating from Analysts at Hovde Group

Hovde Group began coverage on shares of West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $25.50 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

WTBA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research raised 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 note on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.75.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTBA opened at $24.91 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $421.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 0.82. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $24.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.69. West Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $26.60.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that West Bancorporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 4.0%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTBA. Rhino Investment Partners Inc purchased a new stake in West Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,918,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in West Bancorporation by 15.2% during the third 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in West Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,006,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in West Bancorporation by 4.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 875,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,795,000 after purchasing an additional 37,502 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in West Bancorporation during the first quarter valued at approximately $464,000. 44.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.