Ben Mucha Sells 5,946 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Stock

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $481,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,285. This trade represents a 63.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL opened at $82.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $65.82 and a 52-week high of $97.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $968.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.18 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 13.58%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue was up 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 113.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WAL shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, National Alliance Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.93.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.