Wedbush Has Bearish Outlook for WAL FY2024 Earnings

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) – Investment analysts at Wedbush reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a note issued to investors on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now expects that the financial services provider will earn $7.18 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $7.35. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Western Alliance Bancorporation’s current full-year earnings is $7.39 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Western Alliance Bancorporation’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.05 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.06 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.16 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $2.16 EPS.

WAL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of WAL stock opened at $80.49 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $38.81 and a 1 year high of $94.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.79.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cincinnati Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter worth about $46,538,000. LHM Inc. boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,141.1% during the second quarter. LHM Inc. now owns 757,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,606,000 after purchasing an additional 723,995 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,112,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $328,165,000 after purchasing an additional 717,242 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,722,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,832,000 after purchasing an additional 636,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $670,170,000 after purchasing an additional 395,101 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total value of $387,500.10. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total value of $387,500.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,356.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,843.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,149 shares of company stock worth $1,539,681. 2.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s 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.