Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,250,000 shares, a decrease of 18.9% from the March 15th total of 5,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,310,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 4.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WAL. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $106.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.62.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,968,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $498,612,000 after purchasing an additional 154,575 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,736,263 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $479,207,000 after purchasing an additional 278,041 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $298,887,000 after purchasing an additional 22,942 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,341,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,616,000 after purchasing an additional 445,176 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,909,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,668,000 after purchasing an additional 25,260 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WAL stock traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.75. The stock had a trading volume of 810,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,422. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $56.70 and a 12-month high of $98.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.34.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.01. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The company had revenue of $790.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $792.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.41%.

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.