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Western Alliance reports a big increase in deposits

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL) are up 10% on Wednesday after the regional bank said it’s seeing a massive increase in deposits in its current financial quarter.

Deposits have increased by over $2.0 billion

The Phoenix-headquartered firm had roughly $50 billion in deposits as of May 12th. That’s up from $47.6 billion as of March 31st.

The stock market news arrives only days after Western Alliance confirmed that it was not exploring strategic options. Also on Wednesday, Jefferies analyst Casey Haire reiterated his buy rating on “WAL” and said:

The update is another data point that demonstrates WAL is distancing itself from recent industry turmoil and should be well received by market.

For the year, Western Alliance stock is still down more than 50% at writing.

Western Alliance is leading in insured deposits

According to Western Alliance, insured deposits now make up over 79% of the total versus 68% at the start of the second quarter.

That’s the highest percentage for insured deposits among the top 50 banks in the United States. Last month, the regional bank had reported better than expected profit for its fiscal first quarter. It’s revenue, though, had come in shy of Street estimates.

Nonetheless, Jefferies’ Haire is sticking to his $48 price objective on Western Alliance stock that represents another 40% upside on top of today’s gain.

The dividend stock currently pays a yield of over 4.0% that makes up for an additional reason to have it in your portfolio.  

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