Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Takes Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 133,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,946,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 71.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 3,249 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 513.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 111,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,596,000 after purchasing an additional 21,642 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 347,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,701,000 after purchasing an additional 35,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $79.65 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.90. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $65.82 and a 12-month high of $97.23. The company has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.36. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 17.20%.The business had revenue of $995.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on WAL shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $481,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,285. This represents a 63.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.76% of the company’s stock.

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.