Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Upgraded by Raymond James Financial to Moderate Buy Rating

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) to a moderate buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $96.00 price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens set a $95.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $36.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of WAL opened at $77.81 on Tuesday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.82 and a fifty-two week high of $97.23. The firm has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36. The company had revenue of $995.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.53 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.20% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth about $926,898,000. Davis Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,219,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $174,329,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter worth about $125,482,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the second quarter worth approximately $101,995,000. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 and financial services to businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals and individual customers.

Western Alliance Bank offers commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, treasury management, deposit products, mortgage warehouse lending and other specialized banking services. Its business lines also serve technology companies, life sciences firms, entertainment businesses, homeowners’ associations, institutional investors and other niche markets.

The company serves customers through a combination of relationship-focused regional banking and specialized national platforms.