West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04, Zacks reports. West Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 16.04%.The company had revenue of $17.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.70 million.

Here are the key takeaways from West Bancorporation’s conference call:

• Net income for 2025 was $32.6 million, up 35% from 2024, with Q4 net income of $7.4 million, underscoring year-over-year earnings improvement.
• Management executed a strategic repositioning by selling $64 million of available-for-sale securities and realizing a pre-tax loss of $4 million to free proceeds for higher‑earning asset deployment or repayment of high‑cost funding.
• Credit quality is described as pristine—no past dues over 30 days, no nonaccruals, no substandard loans, no OREO, and a watchlist at just 1.7% of loans (70% of which is trucking exposure).
• Core deposits strengthened (≈$212 million increase in Q4; $223 million for the year), deposit costs fell 28 bps QoQ and 64 bps YoY, and net interest margin improved (≈2.5% to start 2026) with room to further expand.
• Loan balances dipped slightly to just under $3 billion due to several large payoffs (including >$50 million), but management notes a ~$400 million fixed‑rate chunk repricing in 2026 with an expected pickup of ~1.5–2%, and loan growth is expected to accelerate with economic recovery and local M&A opportunities.

West Bancorporation Price Performance

NASDAQ WTBA opened at $23.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. West Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $17.31 and a 12 month high of $24.27. The stock has a market cap of $394.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.94.

West Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. West Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of West Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of West Bancorporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of West Bancorporation from $20.50 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Bancorporation

In other West Bancorporation news, Director Douglas R. Gulling sold 7,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.75, for a total value of $171,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 72,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,573,351.50. This represents a 9.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George D. Milligan sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.71, for a total value of $217,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,863.45. This represents a 15.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,726 shares of company stock worth $517,097 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of West Bancorporation

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in West Bancorporation by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 20,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in West Bancorporation by 102.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 39,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 19,846 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of West Bancorporation by 14.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 58,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 7,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of West Bancorporation by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 37,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.30% of the company’s stock.

West Bancorporation Company Profile

West Bancorporation, Inc is the bank holding company for West Town Bank and Trust, a full-service community bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through its subsidiary, the company offers a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking products, including deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgages, business loans and treasury management services. West Bancorporation focuses on delivering personalized financial solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses, real estate developers and individual customers within its urban market.

Since launching operations in 2006, West Town Bank and Trust has steadily expanded its presence across the Chicago metropolitan area.