West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Key Points

• $0.25 quarterly dividend — West Bancorporation declared a $0.25 per-share quarterly dividend (annualized $1.00) with an ex‑dividend/record date of May 6 and payment on May 20, implying a ~4.1% yield; the payout ratio is 44.4% and analysts expect earnings to keep the dividend well covered (projected payout ~35%).
• Quarterly results missed estimates — the bank reported EPS of $0.61 vs. a $0.63 consensus and revenue of $27.01M vs. $28.30M, with a net margin of 16.08% and ROE of 14.28%.
• Stock and analyst outlook — shares recently traded at $24.48 (market cap ≈ $415M, P/E 12.8), and the MarketBeat consensus rating is a Hold with a $24.75 price target.

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th.

West Bancorporation has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years. West Bancorporation has a dividend payout ratio of 44.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect West Bancorporation to earn $2.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.1%.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of West Bancorporation stock traded up $0.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $24.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 44,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,729. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.97. The firm has a market cap of $414.72 million, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.82. West Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $17.31 and a 52 week high of $26.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $27.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.30 million. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 14.28%. Equities analysts forecast that West Bancorporation will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTBA shares. Hovde Group started 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 for the company. Zacks Research cut 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 investment 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, West Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.75.

West Bancorporation Company Profile

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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