West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 116,029 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 128% from the previous session’s volume of 50,928 shares.The stock last traded at $29.8740 and had previously closed at $30.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTBA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on West Bancorporation from $25.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered West Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on West Bancorporation from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Bancorporation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

West Bancorporation Trading Down 0.9%

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $506.80 million, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.07.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $28.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.15 million. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 18.75%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

West Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from West Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 46.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in West Bancorporation by 28.8% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its stake in West Bancorporation by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 14,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 4,345 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,109 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in West Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in West Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,000. Institutional investors own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

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.