West Bancorporation (WTBA) Competitors

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) and West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, dividends, community ranking, earnings, valuation and risk.

Do analysts rate SASR or WTBA?

Sandy Spring Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $31.50, suggesting a potential upside of 13.02%. West Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $23.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.86%. Given West Bancorporation's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe West Bancorporation is more favorable than Sandy Spring Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sandy Spring Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
West Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more risk and volatility, SASR or WTBA?

Sandy Spring Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Bancorporation has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in SASR or WTBA?

66.9% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.3% of West Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of West Bancorporation shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is SASR or WTBA more profitable?

West Bancorporation has a net margin of 12.12% compared to Sandy Spring Bancorp's net margin of 2.65%. West Bancorporation's return on equity of 10.56% beat Sandy Spring Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sandy Spring Bancorp	2.65%	5.31%	0.61%
West Bancorporation	12.12%	10.56%	0.61%

Does the media refer more to SASR or WTBA?

In the previous week, West Bancorporation had 5 more articles in the media than Sandy Spring Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for West Bancorporation and 5 mentions for Sandy Spring Bancorp. Sandy Spring Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat West Bancorporation's score of 0.72 indicating that Sandy Spring Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Sandy Spring Bancorp	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
West Bancorporation	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher valuation and earnings, SASR or WTBA?

West Bancorporation has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sandy Spring Bancorp. West Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sandy Spring Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sandy Spring Bancorp	$404.22M	3.11	$19.93M	$0.45	61.93
West Bancorporation	$79.13M	4.05	$24.05M	$1.43	13.31

Is SASR or WTBA a better dividend stock?

Sandy Spring Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. West Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Sandy Spring Bancorp pays out 302.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. West Bancorporation pays out 69.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. West Bancorporation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer SASR or WTBA?

Sandy Spring Bancorp received 182 more outperform votes than West Bancorporation when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 54.72% of users gave Sandy Spring Bancorp an outperform vote while only 45.57% of users gave West Bancorporation an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Sandy Spring Bancorp	Outperform Votes 290 54.72%	Underperform Votes 240 45.28%
West Bancorporation	Outperform Votes 108 45.57%	Underperform Votes 129 54.43%

Summary

West Bancorporation beats Sandy Spring Bancorp on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.