Barclays PLC Increases Stock Position in West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) by 291.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,615 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in West Bancorporation were worth $398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTBA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in West Bancorporation by 3.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 120,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,945 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 372,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,072,000 after buying an additional 6,809 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP increased its position in West Bancorporation by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 32,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 6,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in West Bancorporation by 3.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 216,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,880,000 after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the last quarter. 44.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTBA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised West Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of West Bancorporation from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

WTBA stock opened at $21.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.80 and a 12-month high of $24.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.43 million, a PE ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 0.97.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.04. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 11.17%. The firm had revenue of $50.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that West Bancorporation, Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. West Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 78.13%.

Insider Transactions at West Bancorporation

In other news, Director Douglas R. Gulling sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total value of $94,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 80,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,539.49. This trade represents a 4.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 4.48% of the company’s stock.

West Bancorporation Profile

West Bancorporation, Inc operates as the financial holding company provides community banking and trust services to individuals and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. It offers deposit services, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit.