Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Hits New 52-Week High at $83.23

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $83.23 and last traded at $82.80, with a volume of 35819 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $82.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WAL shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.27.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.20. The firm has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.45.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $737.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total value of $160,710.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total value of $387,500.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,806,356.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total value of $160,710.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

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

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.