Hovde Group Boosts West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Price Target to $28.00

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Hovde Group from $25.50 to $28.00 in a research report issued on Friday. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Hovde Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 2.98% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WTBA. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of West Bancorporation from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of West Bancorporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

West Bancorporation Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WTBA opened at $27.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $462.99 million, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 0.72. West Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $17.31 and a 52 week high of $27.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.46.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 17.30%.The firm had revenue of $28.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of West Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth $1,006,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 875,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,795,000 after buying an additional 37,502 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth $464,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 102.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 39,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 19,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in West Bancorporation in the second quarter worth $353,000. Hedge funds and other 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.