Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Insider Sells $904,261.97 in Stock

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,843.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL opened at $81.67 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $38.81 and a one year high of $83.23. The company has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.72 and a 200-day moving average of $64.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $737.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $670,170,000 after purchasing an additional 395,101 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $917,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1,706.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after buying an additional 29,188 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 133,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,421,000 after acquiring an additional 14,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 166.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 32,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 20,198 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WAL shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $74.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.27.

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.