Wedbush Has Pessimistic Outlook of 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 report released on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $7.18 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $7.35. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective 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.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WAL. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.60.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE WAL opened at $82.44 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.44. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $94.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.95.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,843.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,634. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,843.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,539,681 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $670,170,000 after buying an additional 395,101 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,112,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,165,000 after purchasing an additional 717,242 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,722,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,832,000 after purchasing an additional 636,577 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.7% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,813,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,764,000 after buying an additional 20,876 shares during the period. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.9% in the first quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,641,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,378,000 after buying an additional 91,535 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.