Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Hits New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $93.91 and last traded at $93.44, with a volume of 220008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.11.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 19.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WAL shares. UBS Group set a $106.00 target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, January 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $87.39 and its 200 day moving average is $84.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.37.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.19. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The company had revenue of $980.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAL. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 17,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,445,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,105.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 535.2% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 16,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 13,835 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently 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.