Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $102.20.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $98.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Monday, December 29th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $108.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

NYSE WAL opened at $88.48 on Tuesday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $94.40. The company has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $841.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $891.04 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 17.14%.Western Alliance Bancorporation’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Dale Gibbons acquired 4,000 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $308,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 300,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,127,566. The trade was a 1.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 234,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,226,000 after purchasing an additional 12,116 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.9% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,313,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,394,000 after acquiring an additional 20,704 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 14.5% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 215,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,681,000 after acquiring an additional 27,329 shares during the period. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 100.0% during the second quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 42,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,275,000 after acquiring an additional 21,000 shares during the period. 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.