Insider Selling: West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Director Sells 5,826 Shares of Stock

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Director George Milligan sold 5,826 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total value of $128,172.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 63,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,390,290. This represents a 8.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

West Bancorporation Stock Up 2.2%

WTBA stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.30. 37,216 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,716. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.31 and a 1 year high of $24.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.95. The stock has a market cap of $377.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.08. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The business had revenue of $25.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.20 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 52.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTBA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on West Bancorporation from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Bancorporation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Bancorporation

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTBA. Rhino Investment Partners Inc bought a new stake in West Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,918,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 402,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,182,000 after acquiring an additional 53,182 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of West Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth $1,006,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in West Bancorporation in the 1st quarter worth $913,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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. Institutional investors own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

About West Bancorporation

West Bancorporation, Inc operates as the financial holding company provides community banking and trust services to individuals and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. It offers deposit services, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit.