Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

WAL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an outperform rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $72.47.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:WAL opened at $58.95 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.12. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $34.45 and a 52 week high of $70.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.46.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $711.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.44 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, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 21.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $64,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,831.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 422.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

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.