Hovde Group Issues Positive Forecast for West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Hovde Group raised its price target on West Bancorporation to $28 from $25.50, while keeping a “market perform” rating. The new target suggests only modest upside from the current share price.
• West Bancorporation beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting EPS of $0.64 versus the $0.63 consensus, with revenue also slightly ahead of expectations at $28.22 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an overall Hold rating with an average price target of $27.50, even as some firms have recently upgraded or reiterated positive views.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by Hovde Group from $25.50 to $28.00 in a research note issued on Friday. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Hovde Group's price objective points to a potential upside of 2.98% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on WTBA. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of West Bancorporation from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of West Bancorporation from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.50.

West Bancorporation Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:WTBA opened at $27.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $462.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.46. West Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $17.31 and a 52 week high of $27.87.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $28.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.15 million. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 17.30%.During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that West Bancorporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTBA. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of West Bancorporation in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,006,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 875,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,795,000 after buying an additional 37,502 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in West Bancorporation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $464,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in West Bancorporation by 102.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 39,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 19,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in West Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $353,000. 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.

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