Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Stock Price

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $95.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.31.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $80.63 on Monday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $53.75 and a 52 week high of $98.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $88.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.70. The stock has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $833.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 23.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,488,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,197,000 after buying an additional 1,418,472 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,793,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,921 shares in the last quarter. LHM Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,141.1% in the 2nd quarter. LHM Inc. now owns 757,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,606,000 after acquiring an additional 723,995 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,722,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,832,000 after acquiring an additional 636,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,522,000 after purchasing an additional 506,778 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.