Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.59.

A number of research firms have weighed in on WAL. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:WAL traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.76. The stock had a trading volume of 585,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,526,017. The company has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.47. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $11.35 and a 1-year high of $70.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $60.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $705.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 16.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,022,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $460,724,000 after acquiring an additional 74,824 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,058,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $360,829,000 after acquiring an additional 402,614 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,410,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,315,000 after acquiring an additional 601,129 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,971,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $411,724,000 after acquiring an additional 880,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 44.4% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,056,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $144,167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,855 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company's stock.

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.