Royal Bank of Canada Increases Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Price Target to $87.00

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $78.00 to $87.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an overweight rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $84.27.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 1.8 %

WAL stock opened at $76.59 on Monday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $38.81 and a fifty-two week high of $79.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $63.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.46.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its 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 return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $737.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total transaction of $160,710.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,633,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,603,000 after purchasing an additional 20,254 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 21,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. M&G Plc lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 133,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,421,000 after purchasing an additional 14,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by 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.