West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Announces $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th.

West Bancorporation has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.1% annually over the last three years. West Bancorporation has a dividend payout ratio of 51.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect West Bancorporation to earn $1.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.3%.

West Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WTBA stock opened at $21.93 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $369.08 million, a P/E ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.95. West Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $15.80 and a 52 week high of $24.85.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 10.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. On average, analysts expect that West Bancorporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at West Bancorporation

In related news, Director Douglas R. Gulling sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total value of $94,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 80,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,539.49. This trade represents a 4.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WTBA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of West Bancorporation from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.