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

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $102.20.

WAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $107.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE WAL opened at $87.49 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.34. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $57.05 and a 52 week high of $94.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 17.14%.The business had revenue of $718.00 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 20.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Dale Gibbons purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $308,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 300,358 shares in the company, valued at $23,127,566. This represents a 1.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $137,289,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 36.5% during the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,979,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,578,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,537 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth about $31,072,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 35.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,179,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,288,000 after purchasing an additional 310,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Frontier Investments LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the second quarter valued at about $22,224,000. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.