West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Increases Dividend to $0.26 Per Share

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of 0.26 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. This is a 4.0% increase from West Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

West Bancorporation has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. West Bancorporation has a payout ratio of 44.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of WTBA traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.19. 66,433 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,462. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. West Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $17.31 and a 1-year high of $27.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $463.05 million, a PE ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.22 and a 200-day moving average of $24.42.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $28.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts expect that West Bancorporation will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WTBA shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of West Bancorporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of West Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, April 6th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $25.50 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Bancorporation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.25.

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.