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 firm’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 transaction of $481,626.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,485 shares in the company, valued at $282,285. This trade represents a 63.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 0.3%

WAL stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.67. 514,414 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,245,671. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.86. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $65.82 and a 1-year high of $97.23.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $968.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.18 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,674,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,655,000 after buying an additional 58,535 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter worth about $13,339,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7,920.9% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 315,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,535,000 after buying an additional 311,689 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 81,386 shares during the period. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 42.4% in the third quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 36,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 10,887 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WAL shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. National Alliance Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.93.

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.