Brokerages Expect Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) to Post $2.32 Earnings Per Share

Analysts expect Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL – Get Rating) to report $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the current quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Five analysts have issued estimates for Western Alliance Bancorporation’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $2.21 and the highest is $2.41. Western Alliance Bancorporation posted earnings per share of $2.29 in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year-over-year growth rate of 1.3%. The business is scheduled to announce its next quarterly earnings report on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will report full-year earnings of $9.79 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $9.16 to $10.11. For the next financial year, analysts anticipate that the company will report earnings of $11.73 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $11.08 to $12.30. Zacks’ earnings per share averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that cover Western Alliance Bancorporation.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $555.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.09 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 41.03% and a return on equity of 21.77%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue for the quarter was up 64.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $140.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 26th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 2nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $128.25.

In other news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $78.67 per share, for a total transaction of $236,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,090 shares in the company, valued at $479,100.30. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Randall S. Theisen sold 6,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $591,660.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 52.0% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 451,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,549,000 after purchasing an additional 154,596 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 212,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,762,000 after purchasing an additional 121,143 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 11,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,336,000 after purchasing an additional 15,473 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 87.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NYSE:WAL traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.07. 500,601 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 899,989. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $71.68 and a 12-month high of $124.93. The company has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 13th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 12th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.57%.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation (Get Rating)

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 in Commercial, Consumer Related, and Corporate & Other 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; and treasury management and residential mortgage products and services.

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