Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Western Alliance Bancorporation or Associated Banc-Corp because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp

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 demand deposit, checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as fixed-rate and fixed maturity certificates of deposit accounts; treasury management products and services to small and middle-market businesses, specialized banking services to sophisticated commercial institutions and investors; and residential mortgage products and services. It also provides commercial and industrial loan products, such as working capital lines of credit, loans to technology companies, inventory and accounts receivable lines, mortgage warehouse lines, equipment loans and leases, and other commercial loans; commercial real estate loans, which are secured by multifamily residential properties, professional offices, industrial facilities, retail centers, hotels, and other commercial properties; construction and land development loans for single family and multifamily residential projects, industrial/warehouse properties, office buildings, retail centers, medical office facilities, and residential lot developments; and consumer loans. In addition, the company offers other financial services, such as internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment and presentment, funds transfer and other digital payment offerings, lock box services, courier, and cash management services. Further, the company holds certain investment securities, municipal and non-profit loans, and leases; invests primarily in low-income housing tax credits and small business investment corporations; and certain real estate loans and related securities. Western Alliance Bancorporation was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products and services to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota. It offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset-based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit. The company also provides deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; specialized financial services comprising interest rate risk management and foreign exchange solutions; fiduciary services consisting of administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, fiduciary and corporate agency services, and institutional asset management services; and investable funds solutions, including savings, money market deposit accounts, IRA accounts, CDs, fixed and variable annuities, full-service, discount, and online investment brokerage; investment advisory services; and trust and investment management accounts. In addition, it offers deposit and transactional solutions, including checking, credit and debit cards, online banking and bill pay, and money transfer services. The company operates loan production offices in Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Texas. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Latest Banks and Western Alliance Bancorporation, Associated Banc-Corp Stock News

As of March 13, 2026, Western Alliance Bancorporation had a $7.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $592.2 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and down 10.33% in the past year.

Currently, Western Alliance Bancorporation’s price-earnings ratio is 7.8. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.3 billion with a 29.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 16.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.118 per share for the current fiscal year. Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a 2.5% dividend yield.

Currently, Associated Banc-Corp’s price-earnings ratio is 8.8. Associated Banc-Corp’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.4 billion with a 33.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 722.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.873 per share for the current fiscal year. Associated Banc-Corp currently has a 3.9% dividend yield.

How We Compare Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Western Alliance Bancorporation	WAL	A
Associated Banc-Corp	ASB	B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Western Alliance Bancorporation has a Value Score of 85, which is Deep Value. Associated Banc-Corp has a Value Score of 76, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Western Alliance Bancorporation

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Western Alliance Bancorporation is considered to have better value than Associated Banc-Corp. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Western Alliance Bancorporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Western Alliance Bancorporation	WAL	F
Associated Banc-Corp	ASB	F

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Western Alliance Bancorporation has a Quality Score of 11, which is Very Weak. Associated Banc-Corp has a Quality Score of 14, which is Very Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Western Alliance Bancorporation or Associated Banc-Corp has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Western Alliance Bancorporation or Associated Banc-Corp is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Western Alliance Bancorporation	WAL	D
Associated Banc-Corp	ASB	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation has a Momentum Score of 26, which is Weak. Associated Banc-Corp has a Momentum Score of 46, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Western Alliance Bancorporation or Associated Banc-Corp has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Western Alliance Bancorporation or Associated Banc-Corp is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Other Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp Grades

In addition to Momentum, Value and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Western Alliance Bancorporation or Associated Banc-Corp Stock?

Overall, Western Alliance Bancorporation stock has a Value Score of 85, Momentum Score of 26 and Quality Score of 11.

Associated Banc-Corp stock has a Value Score of 76, Momentum Score of 46 and Quality Score of 14.

Comparing Western Alliance Bancorporation and Associated Banc-Corp’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.