Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) issued its earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $55.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 1.47. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $11.35 and a one year high of $70.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WAL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.60.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.2% in the first quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 18,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 54.7% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 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.