Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC) versus Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Head-To-Head Comparison

Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC) and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Plumas Bancorp has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Plumas Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Western Alliance Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Plumas Bancorp pays out 28.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Western Alliance Bancorporation pays out 19.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Plumas Bancorp has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Western Alliance Bancorporation has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Plumas Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Plumas Bancorp	0	0	4	0	3.00
Western Alliance Bancorporation	0	5	9	0	2.64

Plumas Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $57.67, indicating a potential upside of 9.40%. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $92.93, indicating a potential upside of 16.58%. Given Western Alliance Bancorporation’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Western Alliance Bancorporation is more favorable than Plumas Bancorp.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Plumas Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorporation”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Plumas Bancorp	$98.65 million	3.72	$29.62 million	$4.72	11.17
Western Alliance Bancorporation	$5.37 billion	1.62	$969.00 million	$8.59	9.28

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

Profitability

This table compares Plumas Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Plumas Bancorp	26.67%	15.16%	1.76%
Western Alliance Bancorporation	17.03%	13.58%	1.09%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.7% of Plumas Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.2% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. 7.4% of Plumas Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Western Alliance Bancorporation beats Plumas Bancorp on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Plumas Bancorp

Plumas Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for the Plumas Bank that provides various banking products and services for small and middle market businesses, and individuals in Northeastern California and Northwestern Nevada. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, money market checking, business sweep, public funds sweep, savings, time deposit, and retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises of term real estate, commercial, and industrial term loans; government-guaranteed and agricultural loans, as well as credit lines; consumer, automobile, and home equity loans; land development and construction loans; and small business administration loans. In addition, the company provides remote deposit, telephone and mobile banking, internet banking with bill-pay options, cashier's check, bank-by-mail, automated teller machine, night depository, safe deposit box, direct deposit, electronic funds transfer, and other customary banking services. Plumas Bancorp was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Reno, Nevada.

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.