Wedbush Weighs in on Western Alliance Bancorporation’s FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:WAL)

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) – Research analysts at Wedbush cut their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report issued on Thursday, May 2nd. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $7.80 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $7.85. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Western Alliance Bancorporation’s current full-year earnings is $7.57 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Western Alliance Bancorporation’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.36 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $2.47 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WAL. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. DA Davidson lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.56.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $61.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.25 and its 200-day moving average is $57.57. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $11.35 and a one year high of $70.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 21.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 422.2% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.