Rhino Investment Partners Inc Takes Position in West Bancorporation, Inc. $WTBA

Rhino Investment Partners Inc purchased a new stake in West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 94,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,000. West Bancorporation comprises 0.6% of Rhino Investment Partners Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WTBA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in West Bancorporation by 4,593.5% during the third 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 period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in West Bancorporation by 68.9% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in West Bancorporation by 157.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 662.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 20.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WTBA opened at $23.06 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $26.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $390.64 million, a P/E ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.03 and a 200-day moving average of $22.23.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The business had revenue of $27.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. West Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 52.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research upgraded West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Bancorporation has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

West Bancorporation 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.