Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Short Interest Down 24.7% in April

Key Points

• Short interest fell 24.7% in April to 2,251,017 shares (about 2.1% of the stock) and a short-interest ratio of 2.3 days.
• Quarterly results beat expectations — EPS $2.22 vs. $1.48 estimate and revenue $968.4M (+31% YoY), with ROE ~13.6% and a 17.0% net margin.
• Analysts remain moderately positive with a consensus "Moderate Buy," nine Buy ratings, five Holds, and an average target price of $93.14.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,251,017 shares, a drop of 24.7% from the March 31st total of 2,989,036 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 958,781 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAL. iA Financial set a $101.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, National Alliance Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, March 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.14.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 915,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,302,339. The stock has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $65.82 and a twelve month high of $97.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $968.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.18 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 17.03%.The company's revenue was up 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. Research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.56%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company's core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.

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