Nicholas Investment Partners LP Sells 10,475 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP lowered its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 94,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,475 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.09% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $5,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the second quarter worth $36,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:WAL opened at $78.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $38.81 and a 1-year high of $85.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $75.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.72.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.57%.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total transaction of $387,500.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,806,356.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,634. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total transaction of $387,500.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,356.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,700,391 over the last 90 days. 2.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.27.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

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.