Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Given “Neutral” Rating at Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL – Get Rating) in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $80.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

WAL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $89.00 to $65.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. Stephens boosted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $88.00.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 47.1 %

WAL opened at $26.12 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $69.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.94. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $7.46 and a one year high of $89.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. The firm had revenue of $701.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $733.13 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 22.00% and a net margin of 34.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 10.34 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.51%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.16, for a total transaction of $128,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,481,051.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 106.4% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Western Alliance Bancorp is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of deposit, lending, treasury management, international banking, and online banking products and services. It operates through the following business segments: Commercial, Consumer Related, and Corporate and Other. The Commercial segment focuses on delivering commercial banking and treasury management products and services to small and middle-market businesses, specialized banking services to sophisticated commercial institutions and investors within niche industries, as well as financial services to the real estate industry.