West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.26

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.26 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This is a 4.0% increase from West Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

West Bancorporation has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. West Bancorporation has a payout ratio of 44.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect West Bancorporation to earn $2.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.1%.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WTBA traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.19. The company had a trading volume of 66,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,462. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $463.05 million, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 0.72. West Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $27.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $25.22 and its 200-day moving average is $24.42.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 17.30%.The business had revenue of $28.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 4,593.5% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 68.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 662.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Institutional investors 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.