Insider Selling: West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Director Sells 4,000 Shares of Stock

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Director Douglas R. Gulling sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 80,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,539.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

West Bancorporation stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.02. 32,236 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,939. West Bancorporation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.80 and a 12-month high of $24.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $404.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.81.

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

West Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in West Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at approximately $114,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in West Bancorporation by 87.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,839 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Bancorporation during the first quarter worth about $182,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of West Bancorporation during the first quarter worth about $196,000. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in West Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

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.