J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey Sells 1,000 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Stock

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 1,000 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $64,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,831.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.86. 22,162 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,298,572. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.41. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.47. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $33.19 and a 12-month high of $70.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 21.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter worth $12,387,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at about $77,957,000. Strs Ohio grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 86,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,697,000 after acquiring an additional 22,600 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 170.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,294,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,507,000 after purchasing an additional 815,737 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.7% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 11,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.47.

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.