West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04, Zacks reports. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 14.59%. The business had revenue of $17.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.70 million.

Here are the key takeaways from West Bancorporation’s conference call:

• Net income for 2025 was $32.6 million, up 35% from 2024, with Q4 net income of $7.4 million, underscoring year-over-year earnings improvement.
• Management executed a strategic repositioning by selling $64 million of available-for-sale securities and realizing a pre-tax loss of $4 million to free proceeds for higher?earning asset deployment or repayment of high?cost funding.
• Credit quality is described as pristine—no past dues over 30 days, no nonaccruals, no substandard loans, no OREO, and a watchlist at just 1.7% of loans (70% of which is trucking exposure).
• Core deposits strengthened (?$212 million increase in Q4; $223 million for the year), deposit costs fell 28 bps QoQ and 64 bps YoY, and net interest margin improved (?2.5% to start 2026) with room to further expand.
• Loan balances dipped slightly to just under $3 billion due to several large payoffs (including >$50 million), but management notes a ~$400 million fixed?rate chunk repricing in 2026 with an expected pickup of ~1.5–2%, and loan growth is expected to accelerate with economic recovery and local M&A opportunities.

West Bancorporation Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ WTBA traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 52,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,470. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.99 million, a P/E ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. West Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $17.31 and a 52-week high of $24.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.96.

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 52.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTBA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of West Bancorporation from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut West Bancorporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Douglas R. Gulling sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.75, for a total transaction of $171,825.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 72,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,573,351.50. The trade was a 9.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George D. Milligan sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.71, for a total value of $217,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,154,863.45. This represents a 15.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,726 shares of company stock valued at $517,097. 4.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTBA. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 4,593.5% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in West Bancorporation by 68.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

West Bancorporation Company 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.