EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $979,000 Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 11,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $979,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter valued at approximately $924,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,877,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,313.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 18,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after acquiring an additional 18,112 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 635.0% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 48,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,409,000 after buying an additional 41,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,450,000. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $481,626.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,485 shares in the company, valued at $282,285. This represents a 63.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WAL shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson set a $36.00 price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.47.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL opened at $79.78 on Monday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $65.82 and a 1-year high of $97.23. The stock has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36. The company had revenue of $995.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.53 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.40% and a net margin of 17.20%.Western Alliance Bancorporation’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend 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 is 18.92%.

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.