Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL Shares Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 72.6%, holding 8,235 shares valued at $633,000, following a purchase of an additional 3,465 shares.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for the stock, with JPMorgan Chase raising its target price from $80 to $87, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $97.79.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend of $1.52 and a yield of 1.7%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 72.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,465 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 22.7% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 91.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $209,775.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. The trade was a 9.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock traded down $1.00 on Friday, hitting $88.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,138,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,243. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $57.05 and a 52-week high of $98.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.38. The company has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.79.

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.