Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on WAL. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $93.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $84.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.44.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 2.3%

WAL stock opened at $77.25 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $65.82 and a twelve month high of $97.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.64.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $987.91 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.56%.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth about $174,329,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,877,000. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at about $924,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,096,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,977,000. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and the parent of Western Alliance Bank. The company provides commercial banking and related financial services to businesses, business owners and individuals.

Its services include business and commercial real estate lending, deposit accounts, treasury management, and specialized banking for industries such as technology, healthcare, and property management. Through its banking divisions and specialized business lines, Western Alliance serves clients across the western United States and beyond.

Western Alliance traces its history to the 1990s and has expanded through acquisitions and the development of regional banking divisions.