Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Price Target Cut to $70.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $80.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $66.87.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL stock traded up $1.58 during trading on Monday, hitting $61.32. The stock had a trading volume of 919,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,496,171. The company's 50 day moving average price is $60.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.71. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $11.35 and a 1-year high of $70.23. The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.63%.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAL. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 18,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 29,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 931 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 235 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 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.