Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.56.

WAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WAL opened at $58.68 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $59.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $11.35 and a 1-year high of $70.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $711.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 21.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth about $77,957,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 489.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,333,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,431 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,758,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,725,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,510,000 after purchasing an additional 876,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,339,000 after purchasing an additional 824,636 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.