West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Separately, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of West Bancorporation from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WTBA opened at $22.20 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. West Bancorporation has a one year low of $15.80 and a one year high of $24.85. The stock has a market cap of $373.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.98.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 11.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Bancorporation will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other West Bancorporation news, Director Douglas R. Gulling sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total transaction of $94,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 80,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,905,539.49. This represents a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of West Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth about $114,000. City State Bank lifted its position in West Bancorporation by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in West Bancorporation by 291.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 15,615 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in West Bancorporation by 267.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 25,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 18,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Bancorporation by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 28,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. 44.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Bancorporation Company 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.