West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Sees Large Volume Increase - What's Next?

Key Points

• WTBA trading volume jumped 128% to 116,029 shares, while the stock traded near $29.87 versus a prior close of $30.00.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from four analysts, with an average price target of $29.00.
• West Bancorporation slightly beat quarterly earnings expectations with $0.64 EPS and $28.22 million in revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26, implying a 3.5% annualized yield.

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 116,029 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 128% from the previous session's volume of 50,928 shares.The stock last traded at $29.8740 and had previously closed at $30.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WTBA. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of West Bancorporation from $25.50 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of West Bancorporation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of West Bancorporation from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.00.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $506.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.07.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $28.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.15 million. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 18.75% and a return on equity of 15.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

West Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from West Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. West Bancorporation's payout ratio is 46.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in West Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $126,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in West Bancorporation by 37.6% during the fourth 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. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 86.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 4,593.5% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 662.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 3,288 shares during the last quarter. 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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