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

West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 24th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors 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 4.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th.

West Bancorporation has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.1% per year over the last three years. West Bancorporation has a dividend payout ratio of 45.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect West Bancorporation to earn $1.75 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 57.1%.

West Bancorporation Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTBA traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.46. 27,458 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,642. West Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $15.80 and a fifty-two week high of $24.85. The stock has a market cap of $361.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.79.

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. West Bancorporation had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 9.46%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Bancorporation will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WTBA. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on 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 research note on Monday, October 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas R. Gulling sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 80,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,905,539.49. This trade 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 accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.48% 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.