Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) hit 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. The stock had previously closed at $93.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

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 $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $87.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.14.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 23.46%.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares in the company, valued at $335,634. The trade was a 42.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.2% in 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position 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 valued at $233,832,000 after purchasing an additional 636,577 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 20,876 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 93.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,793,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,896,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,019,000 after buying an additional 74,956 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.