Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $84.61, but opened at $81.89. Western Alliance Bancorporation shares last traded at $80.84, with a volume of 319,657 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WAL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.71.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $77.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.29.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.58 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 12.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.9% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,076,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $466,821,000 after acquiring an additional 339,758 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,968,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $498,612,000 after acquiring an additional 154,575 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.8% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,604,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $276,954,000 after acquiring an additional 26,995 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,341,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $195,616,000 after acquiring an additional 445,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of 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.

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.