West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $23.20 and traded as high as $24.15. West Bancorporation shares last traded at $23.99, with a volume of 40,930 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of West Bancorporation in a research report on Monday, April 6th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $25.50 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.75.

West Bancorporation Stock Up 1.9%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.08 and its 200 day moving average is $23.20. The company has a market capitalization of $408.55 million, a PE ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.30% and a return on equity of 14.88%. The company had revenue of $27.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.30 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 48.54%.

Institutional Trading of West Bancorporation

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTBA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in West Bancorporation by 4,593.5% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in West Bancorporation by 68.9% during 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. CWM LLC grew its position in West Bancorporation by 157.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in West Bancorporation by 37.6% during the 4th 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. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in West Bancorporation by 662.9% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 44.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.