Wedbush Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) – Investment analysts at Wedbush reduced their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report released on Thursday, May 2nd. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $7.80 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $7.85. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Western Alliance Bancorporation’s current full-year earnings is $7.57 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Western Alliance Bancorporation’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.36 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $2.47 EPS.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 16.50%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WAL. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.56.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 2.2 %

WAL opened at $61.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.57. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $11.35 and a twelve month high of $70.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAL. Cincinnati Casualty Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter worth about $475,000. Cincinnati Insurance Co. bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,538,000. Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Insurance CO purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $764,000. CSU Producer Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,196,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,799,000 after buying an additional 11,976 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

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.