GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 24,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,051,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 86.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Compound Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WAL shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $95.00 target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.47.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,485 shares in the company, valued at $282,285. This trade represents a 63.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

NYSE WAL opened at $82.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.53. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $65.82 and a twelve month 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 0.93.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation 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.