Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WAL. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $74.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $84.27.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $81.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.09. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $38.81 and a 12 month high of $81.90.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $771.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $737.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 15.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,344. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 26.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during 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.