West Bancorporation (WTBA) Competitors

First Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) and West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and risk.

Is FCBC or WTBA a better dividend stock?

First Community Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. West Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. First Community Bancshares pays out 45.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. West Bancorporation pays out 58.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. First Community Bancshares has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, FCBC or WTBA?

First Community Bancshares has higher earnings, but lower revenue than West Bancorporation. West Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Community Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Community Bancshares	$185.53M	3.76	$51.60M	$2.73	13.95
West Bancorporation	$198.50M	1.75	$24.05M	$1.70	12.08

Does the media prefer FCBC or WTBA?

In the previous week, First Community Bancshares and First Community Bancshares both had 2 articles in the media. First Community Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 1.65 beat West Bancorporation's score of 1.42 indicating that First Community Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Community Bancshares	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
West Bancorporation	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is FCBC or WTBA more profitable?

First Community Bancshares has a net margin of 27.07% compared to West Bancorporation's net margin of 14.40%. West Bancorporation's return on equity of 12.26% beat First Community Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Community Bancshares	27.07%	9.68%	1.54%
West Bancorporation	14.40%	12.26%	0.72%

Which has more risk & volatility, FCBC or WTBA?

First Community Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Bancorporation has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer FCBC or WTBA?

West Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $20.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.15%. Given West Bancorporation's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe West Bancorporation is more favorable than First Community Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Community Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
West Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of FCBC or WTBA?

35.0% of First Community Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.3% of West Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Community Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of West Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Community Bancshares beats West Bancorporation on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.