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

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.27.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $62.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $74.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $78.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.23. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $38.81 and a one year high of $83.23. 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 $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $737.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,977 shares in the company, valued at $650,843.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,520 shares in the company, valued at $267,344. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total transaction of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,843.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,269 shares of company stock worth $1,452,472 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter worth $67,758,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,339,000 after purchasing an additional 824,636 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5,918.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 763,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,228,000 after purchasing an additional 750,773 shares during the period. Cincinnati Insurance Co. bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,538,000. Finally, LHM Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,141.1% during the 2nd quarter. LHM Inc. now owns 757,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,606,000 after acquiring an additional 723,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.