Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Shares Sold by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 61.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 210,952 shares during the quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned approximately 0.12% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $11,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 123,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 314,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,970,000 after buying an additional 45,764 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,461,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,522,000 after acquiring an additional 506,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 49.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 191,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,536,000 after purchasing an additional 63,283 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.62.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.33. 707,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,214,724. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $72.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.30. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $56.70 and a 1-year high of $98.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.01. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 15.49%. The firm had revenue of $790.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.85%.

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.