West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Director Steven Gaer Sells 6,215 Shares of Company Stock

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Director Steven Gaer sold 6,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.13, for a total transaction of $193,472.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $598,816.68. The trade was a 24.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WTBA traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 34,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,341. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $520.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.70. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.89 and a fifty-two week high of $31.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.27.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.67. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.09%. The business had revenue of $29.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.95 million. On average, research analysts predict that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTBA. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 15,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in West Bancorporation by 83.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in West Bancorporation by 4.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in West Bancorporation by 332.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 28,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 28.8% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 7,702 shares during the period. 44.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group raised 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 research note on Saturday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of West Bancorporation from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Bancorporation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Bancorporation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

West Bancorporation Company Profile

West Bancorporation, Inc (NASDAQ: WTBA) is a bank holding company headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. It operates primarily through West Bank, a community banking institution that provides financial services to businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations.

West Bank offers commercial and consumer lending, including commercial real estate, business, residential real estate and personal loans. Its deposit products include checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, while additional services include treasury management, online and mobile banking, cash management and trust or wealth management services.

Founded in 1893, West Bank serves communities primarily in central and eastern Iowa, with a presence in the Des Moines metropolitan area and other Iowa markets.