Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Price Target Increased to $78.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) had its price objective lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $75.29.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 5.0 %

Shares of WAL opened at $67.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.35. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $38.77 and a twelve month high of $70.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.41 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 1,000 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total value of $64,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $361,831.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,911,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 29,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 75,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,959,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.