Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Price Target to $80.00

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL stock opened at $63.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $78.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.55. The firm has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29. 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 has a 1 year low of $53.75 and a 1 year high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 15.49%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 21.41%.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. 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.