Brokerages Set Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Price Target at $94.75

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.75.

Several research analysts have weighed in on WAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $101.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $84.40 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $53.75 and a 12 month high of $98.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.71 and a 200-day moving average of $81.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.46.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 14.66% and a return on equity of 13.16%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,488,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,197,000 after buying an additional 1,418,472 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,722,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,832,000 after acquiring an additional 636,577 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $176,764,000 after acquiring an additional 20,876 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,793,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,896,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,019,000 after purchasing an additional 74,956 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.