West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

West Bancorporation Trading Down 3.3 %

WTBA opened at $18.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $310.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.56. West Bancorporation has a one year low of $17.58 and a one year high of $28.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $22.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.90 million. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 34.74% and a return on equity of 21.52%. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Bancorporation will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 8th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 36.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in West Bancorporation by 43.7% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in West Bancorporation by 2.1% in the second quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 27,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in West Bancorporation by 82.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in West Bancorporation by 4.8% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 16,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in West Bancorporation by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.05% of the company’s stock.

West Bancorporation Company Profile

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West Bancorp, Inc is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial banking services through its subsidiary, West Bank. It offers personal banking, business banking, and investments and trust. The firm operates in the following markets: central Iowa, which is generally the greater Des Moines metropolitan area, eastern Iowa, which includes the area surrounding Iowa City and Coralville, and southern Minnesota, which includes the cities of Rochester, Owatonna, Mankato, and St.