Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo lowered its price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation to $82 from $84 and maintained an “equal weight” rating, implying about 6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 12 analysts rate the stock Buy and four rate it Hold, with an average price target of $92.44 and a “Moderate Buy” consensus.
• Western Alliance beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.45 per share and $1.01 billion in revenue; revenue increased 8.1% year over year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $82.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential upside of 5.97% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on WAL. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Mizuho set a $96.00 target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $95.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.44.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WAL opened at $77.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.43. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $65.82 and a twelve month high of $97.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.71.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $987.91 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $926,898,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,813,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $270,203,000 after purchasing an additional 36,534 shares during the period. Davis Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $274,219,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $174,329,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $101,995,000. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and the parent of Western Alliance Bank. The company provides commercial banking and related financial services to businesses, business owners and individuals.

Its services include business and commercial real estate lending, deposit accounts, treasury management, and specialized banking for industries such as technology, healthcare, and property management. Through its banking divisions and specialized business lines, Western Alliance serves clients across the western United States and beyond.

Western Alliance traces its history to the 1990s and has expanded through acquisitions and the development of regional banking divisions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.