Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.56.

WAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, 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.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $58.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $11.35 and a 1-year high of $70.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $711.34 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 17,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,941,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 636,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,274,000 after buying an additional 18,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at approximately $827,000. 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.