Short Interest in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Expands By 19.2%

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,880,000 shares, an increase of 19.2% from the August 15th total of 7,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $61.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.43.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

NYSE WAL traded down $1.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $47.59. 1,526,308 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,303,832. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.84, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.42. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $7.46 and a fifty-two week high of $81.17.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by ($0.01). Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 24.19%. The business had revenue of $669.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $657.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 8.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAL. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 4,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $504,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter worth approximately $374,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,071,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,776,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 13.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 126,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,440,000 after buying an additional 15,297 shares in the last quarter. 72.04% 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.