Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 15 research firms, with one sell and fourteen buy ratings.
• The average price target for the stock is $101.53, with JPMorgan Chase raising its target to $105.00, while Wells Fargo lowered theirs to $90.00.
• Western Alliance recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of nearly 20%.

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.5333.

Several research analysts have issued reports on WAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut Western Alliance Bancorporation from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. National Bankshares set a $118.00 price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen assumed coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:WAL opened at $86.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $57.05 and a 1 year high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.58 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 16.39%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 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, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $209,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at $139,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 60.4% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 81,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,350,000 after acquiring an additional 30,670 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.6% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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