Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $97.42 and last traded at $97.41, with a volume of 110672 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $93.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WAL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.10). Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 14.66% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The company had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.40 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 23.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,634. The trade was a 42.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake 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 valued at $328,165,000 after acquiring an additional 717,242 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,418,472 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 93.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,793,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,568,000 after buying an additional 1,347,921 shares during the period. 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.