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

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.9286.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. National Alliance Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE WAL opened at $82.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.92. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $65.82 and a 12 month high of $97.23. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.59, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.34.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 13.58%. The business had revenue of $968.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 19.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $481,626.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,485 shares in the company, valued at $282,285. The trade was a 63.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 113.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 86.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.