Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Raises Dividend to $0.38 Per Share

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.38 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37.

Western Alliance Bancorporation has raised its dividend by an average of 13.2% annually over the last three years. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a payout ratio of 16.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Western Alliance Bancorporation to earn $8.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.0%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock traded up $1.49 on Wednesday, hitting $94.49. 125,200 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,313,981. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $46.52 and a one year high of $96.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $84.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $833.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.40 million. On average, research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,634. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total transaction of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,843.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were 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 owns 4,056 shares in the company, valued at $335,634. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on WAL shares. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.73.

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.