Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Shares Down 4.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) fell 4.5% on Monday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $102.00 to $101.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Western Alliance Bancorporation traded as low as $81.66 and last traded at $81.71. 456,914 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 1,308,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.53.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on WAL. Bank of America raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wedbush lifted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on 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, Truist Financial cut their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.73.

Insider Activity

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,634. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares in the company, valued at $335,634. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total transaction of $387,500.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,356.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,539,681. Company insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $670,170,000 after buying an additional 395,101 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1,706.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after buying an additional 29,188 shares during the period. M&G Plc grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.4% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 133,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,421,000 after purchasing an additional 14,734 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,633,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,603,000 after buying an additional 20,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the second quarter valued at approximately $474,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.