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

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.7333.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. iA Financial set a $101.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, February 2nd.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $79.54 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.34. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $57.05 and a 52-week high of $97.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.36.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $980.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.69 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 19.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,746,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $735,350,000 after buying an additional 777,369 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,450,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $542,286,000 after acquiring an additional 470,492 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,016,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $521,710,000 after acquiring an additional 197,854 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,777,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,574,000 after acquiring an additional 102,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,670,000 after purchasing an additional 81,386 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

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.