Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) Competitors

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, community ranking, earnings, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, MTB or WAL?

M&T Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Western Alliance Bancorporation. Western Alliance Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than M&T Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
M&T Bank	$12.75B	2.79	$2.74B	$13.51	15.89
Western Alliance Bancorporation	$4.32B	2.30	$722.40M	$6.48	13.95

Does the media prefer MTB or WAL?

In the previous week, M&T Bank had 23 more articles in the media than Western Alliance Bancorporation. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for M&T Bank and 6 mentions for Western Alliance Bancorporation. Western Alliance Bancorporation's average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat M&T Bank's score of 0.94 indicating that Western Alliance Bancorporation is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
M&T Bank	14 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Western Alliance Bancorporation	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders believe in MTB or WAL?

84.7% of M&T Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.2% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of M&T Bank shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is MTB or WAL a better dividend stock?

M&T Bank pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Western Alliance Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. M&T Bank pays out 40.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Western Alliance Bancorporation pays out 22.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Do analysts prefer MTB or WAL?

M&T Bank presently has a consensus price target of $199.65, indicating a potential downside of 7.03%. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $92.73, indicating a potential upside of 2.60%. Given Western Alliance Bancorporation's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Western Alliance Bancorporation is more favorable than M&T Bank.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
M&T Bank	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Western Alliance Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MTB or WAL?

Western Alliance Bancorporation received 282 more outperform votes than M&T Bank when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.21% of users gave Western Alliance Bancorporation an outperform vote while only 46.23% of users gave M&T Bank an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
M&T Bank	Outperform Votes 245 46.23%	Underperform Votes 285 53.77%
Western Alliance Bancorporation	Outperform Votes 527 66.21%	Underperform Votes 269 33.79%

Is MTB or WAL more profitable?

M&T Bank has a net margin of 17.82% compared to Western Alliance Bancorporation's net margin of 14.66%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's return on equity of 13.16% beat M&T Bank's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
M&T Bank	17.82%	9.52%	1.15%
Western Alliance Bancorporation	14.66%	13.16%	1.03%

Which has more volatility & risk, MTB or WAL?

M&T Bank has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a beta of 1.44, meaning that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

M&T Bank and Western Alliance Bancorporation tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.