Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Stock Price Down 8.8% – Here’s What Happened

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)’s stock price dropped 8.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $81.75 and last traded at $82.1560. Approximately 675,878 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 1,079,512 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WAL shares. Truist Financial set a $98.00 target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.36.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 $980.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $912.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 19.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,746,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $735,350,000 after acquiring an additional 777,369 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,450,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $542,286,000 after purchasing an additional 470,492 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,016,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $521,710,000 after purchasing an additional 197,854 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,777,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,574,000 after purchasing an additional 102,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,670,000 after purchasing an additional 81,386 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

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.