Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Price Target to $95.00

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $95.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on WAL. Barclays increased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. 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 research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.31.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $80.63 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.70. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $53.75 and a 12 month high of $98.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.40 million. Analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. This is an increase from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAL. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 58.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 167.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in 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.