UPDATE: Keefe Bruyette & Woods Upgrades Western Alliance Bancorp to Outperform on Cheaper Credit

Keefe Bruyette & Woods raised its rating on Western Alliance Bancorp WAL from Market Perform to Outperform, and raised its price target from $9.50 to $12. Keefe Bruyette & Woods commented, "We believe that as the housing market in WALs markets continues to firm, credit costs should decline and EPS could increase over the next two years. With lower risk and increased core profitability, we believe WAL should trade more in-line with its peers, thus we believe there is 17% potential upside to our target price; we raised our rating to Outperform from Market Perform." Western Alliance Bancorp closed at $10.44 on Thursday.