Summit State Bank (NASDAQ:SSBI) and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Head-To-Head Contrast

Summit State Bank (NASDAQ:SSBI) and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Summit State Bank and Western Alliance Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Summit State Bank	-1.70%	N/A	N/A
Western Alliance Bancorporation	16.39%	12.62%	1.02%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.2% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Summit State Bank has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Summit State Bank and Western Alliance Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Summit State Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
Western Alliance Bancorporation	0	1	12	0	2.92

Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $96.6154, indicating a potential upside of 16.98%. Given Western Alliance Bancorporation’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Western Alliance Bancorporation is more favorable than Summit State Bank.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Summit State Bank and Western Alliance Bancorporation”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Summit State Bank	$62.91 million	1.26	-$3.66 million	($0.16)	-73.13
Western Alliance Bancorporation	$5.08 billion	1.79	$787.70 million	$7.61	10.85

Western Alliance Bancorporation has higher revenue and earnings than Summit State Bank. Summit State Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Western Alliance Bancorporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Western Alliance Bancorporation beats Summit State Bank on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Summit State Bank

Summit State Bank engages in providing an array of financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, their owners and employees, entrepreneurs, high net worth families, foundations, estates, and individual consumers. It specializes in business services, personal accounts, nonprofit programs, and mobile banking ranging from lending, checking, merchant, eBanking, automated teller machines, equity loans, and others. The company was founded on December 20, 1982 and is headquartered in Santa Rosa, CA.

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. It also provides commercial and industrial loan products, such as working capital lines of credit, loans to technology companies, inventory and accounts receivable lines, mortgage warehouse lines, equipment loans and leases, and other commercial loans; commercial real estate loans, which are secured by multi-family residential properties, professional offices, industrial facilities, retail centers, hotels, and other commercial properties; construction and land development loans for single family and multi-family residential projects, industrial/warehouse properties, office buildings, retail centers, medical office facilities, and residential lot developments; and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides other financial services, such as internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment and presentment, funds transfer and other digital payment offerings, lock box services, courier, and cash management services. Further, the company holds certain investment securities, municipal and non-profit loans, and leases; invests primarily in low-income housing tax credits and small business investment corporations; and holds certain real estate loans and related securities. Western Alliance Bancorporation was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.