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

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.27.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $62.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total transaction of $160,710.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,344. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total value of $160,710.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,344. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total transaction of $904,261.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,843.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,269 shares of company stock worth $1,452,472 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $670,170,000 after buying an additional 395,101 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $917,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1,706.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after buying an additional 29,188 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 133,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,421,000 after purchasing an additional 14,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 166.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 32,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 20,198 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 0.9 %

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $78.80 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $38.81 and a 12-month high of $83.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.61 and a 200 day moving average of $65.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $737.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

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.