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

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.07.

Several analysts have issued reports on WAL shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

NYSE WAL opened at $75.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.43. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $53.75 and a 1 year high of $98.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $85.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 15.49%. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 70.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.