West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $22.54 and traded as high as $24.23. West Bancorporation shares last traded at $23.79, with a volume of 41,726 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WTBA. Zacks Research raised shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $408.25 million, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.55.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last issued 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. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 16.08%.The firm had revenue of $27.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.70 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in West Bancorporation by 7.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,675 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in West Bancorporation in the first quarter worth $464,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 27.9% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 17,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Bancorporation during the second quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 14,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.