Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Shares Down 4.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)’s stock price dropped 4.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $102.00 to $101.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Western Alliance Bancorporation traded as low as $81.66 and last traded at $81.71. Approximately 456,914 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 1,308,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.53.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on WAL. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,634. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total value of $387,500.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,806,356.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,634. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,149 shares of company stock worth $1,539,681. Corporate insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $82.58 and its 200 day moving average is $70.65.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $737.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 14.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 22.84%.

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.