Western Alliance Bancorporation Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.37 (NYSE:WAL)

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 3rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th.

Western Alliance Bancorporation has increased its dividend by an average of 13.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a dividend payout ratio of 15.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Western Alliance Bancorporation to earn $9.29 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.9%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 2.1 %

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,066,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,008. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $11.35 and a fifty-two week 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $711.34 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.56.

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.