Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $79.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $83.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.84% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.00.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL stock opened at $73.94 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.29. The firm has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $57.05 and a 1 year high of $97.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.19. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 18.04%.The company had revenue of $890.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 71.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 3,249 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 513.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 24.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 111,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,596,000 after acquiring an additional 21,642 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 347,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,701,000 after acquiring an additional 35,276 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,666,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.