Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) to Issue $0.37 Quarterly Dividend

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 31st, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th.

Western Alliance Bancorporation has raised its dividend payment by an average of 13.2% annually over the last three years. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a dividend payout ratio of 15.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Western Alliance Bancorporation to earn $9.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.0%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

NYSE:WAL traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $73.93. The stock had a trading volume of 274,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,206. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $38.81 and a 52 week high of $82.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $737.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.27.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total transaction of $387,500.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,806,356.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total value of $387,500.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,806,356.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,186 shares of company stock worth $612,410 in the last quarter. 2.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.