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

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.27.

WAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler set a $102.00 price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

NYSE WAL opened at $85.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.58. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $94.28.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $771.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $737.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.57%.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total value of $160,710.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,634. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total transaction of $160,710.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,520 shares in the company, valued at $267,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,265 shares of company stock worth $1,700,391 over the last three months. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $670,170,000 after purchasing an additional 395,101 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,112,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $328,165,000 after buying an additional 717,242 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,722,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,832,000 after buying an additional 636,577 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.7% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,813,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,764,000 after buying an additional 20,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.9% in the first quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,641,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,378,000 after acquiring an additional 91,535 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.