Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. 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, Western Alliance Bancorporation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

The firm has a market cap 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced 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 net margin of 14.66% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The company had revenue of $833.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.40 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 23.46%.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,634. This trade represents a 42.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the second quarter worth about $36,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 58.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 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.