Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $89.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.29. The stock has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.46. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $53.75 and a 12-month high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 119.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 252,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,596,000 after purchasing an additional 137,577 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6.1% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the second quarter valued at $221,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at $722,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 124.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.