Brokerages Set Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Target Price at $70.56

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.56.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WAL. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 29,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 47,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,182,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 75,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,959,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 11,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

NYSE WAL opened at $56.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.47. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $11.35 and a 1 year high of $70.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.99%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.