Barclays PLC Grows Holdings in West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) by 291.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,615 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.12% of West Bancorporation worth $398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 230,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,384,000 after purchasing an additional 31,194 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in West Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of West Bancorporation by 3.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 216,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,880,000 after acquiring an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 32,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 6,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted 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 valued at $7,072,000 after purchasing an additional 6,809 shares in the last quarter. 44.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Bancorporation

In related news, Director Douglas R. Gulling sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total transaction of $94,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 80,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,539.49. The trade was a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTBA opened at $21.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.80 and a fifty-two week high of $24.85. The firm has a market cap of $364.43 million, a PE ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.41.

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

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTBA. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of West Bancorporation from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded West Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

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.