Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Given New $76.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) had its price objective cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WAL. Barclays initiated coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Western Alliance Bancorporation from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $70.56.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of WAL opened at $58.58 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $59.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.85. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $11.35 and a twelve month high of $70.23. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 1.47. 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 (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 16.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $711.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.73 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAL. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,957,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 489.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,333,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,431 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,758,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,725,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,510,000 after purchasing an additional 876,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,452,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,339,000 after purchasing an additional 824,636 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

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.