Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Announces Earnings Results

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) issued its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL stock opened at $55.78 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $11.35 and a twelve month high of $70.23. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 22.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.60.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at about $564,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $989,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 104,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,862,000 after acquiring an additional 25,118 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 45,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 91.4% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 329,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,651,000 after purchasing an additional 157,124 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

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.