Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.73.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WAL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush upped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total transaction of $904,261.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,843.43. The trade was a 58.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $335,634. This trade represents a 42.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.75% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $91.87. The company had a trading volume of 772,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,702. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.44. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $47.54 and a one year high of $96.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $833.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 14.66% and a return on equity of 13.16%. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Western Alliance Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

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.