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

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.27.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAL. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,843.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,843.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total transaction of $387,500.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,356.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,269 shares of company stock valued at $1,452,472. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL opened at $81.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.45. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $38.81 and a 12-month high of $83.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $72.72 and a 200-day moving average of $64.56.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $771.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $737.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

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.