Gator Capital Management LLC Acquires 25,155 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 129,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,155 shares during the period. Western Alliance Bancorporation makes up about 2.2% of Gator Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Gator Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $10,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,450,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $542,286,000 after acquiring an additional 470,492 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,016,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $521,710,000 after purchasing an additional 197,854 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,777,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,574,000 after purchasing an additional 102,943 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.5% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $207,670,000 after purchasing an additional 81,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,288,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $481,626.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,285. This represents a 63.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, March 6th. 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 note on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL opened at $83.47 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $65.82 and a 52-week high of $97.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $78.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.93.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.56%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

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.