StockNews.com Lowers Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) to Sell

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WAL. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 3.1 %

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $62.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $35.67 and a 1-year high of $70.23. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.33.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 16.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 1,000 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total value of $64,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,831.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at $77,957,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at $67,758,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,725,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,510,000 after acquiring an additional 876,413 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,339,000 after acquiring an additional 824,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5,918.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 763,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,228,000 after acquiring an additional 750,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for Western Alliance Bank that provides various banking products and related services primarily in Arizona, California, and Nevada. It operates through Commercial and Consumer Related segments. The company offers deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as fixed-rate and fixed maturity certificates of deposit accounts; demand deposits; and treasury management and residential mortgage products and services.