Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on WAL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an outperform rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $72.47.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL opened at $58.57 on Wednesday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $34.45 and a one year high of $70.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.96. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.46. 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 (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter worth $12,387,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $77,957,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $917,000. Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 86,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,697,000 after buying an additional 22,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 170.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,294,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,507,000 after buying an additional 815,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.