Rhino Investment Partners Inc Purchases Shares of 94,392 West Bancorporation, Inc. $WTBA

Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 94,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,000. West Bancorporation comprises about 0.6% of Rhino Investment Partners Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Rhino Investment Partners Inc owned approximately 0.56% of West Bancorporation as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC now owns 35,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in West Bancorporation by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 37,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in West Bancorporation by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 11,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in West Bancorporation by 7.2% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 14,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTBA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

WTBA opened at $23.06 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.64 million, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.84. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.31 and a 52 week high of $26.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 16.08%.The company had revenue of $27.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.70 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.36%.

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.