FJ Capital Management LLC Has $34 Million Stock Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• FJ Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 824.8%, now owning approximately $34 million worth of shares.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target averaging around $97.79.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.07, exceeding analysts' expectations, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share.

FJ Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 824.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 442,507 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 394,660 shares during the quarter. Western Alliance Bancorporation makes up approximately 3.5% of FJ Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. FJ Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $33,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 90,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,643 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 174,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,585,000 after purchasing an additional 19,639 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 53.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 24.9% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 25,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,950,000 after buying an additional 5,056 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 99,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,277,000 after acquiring an additional 4,909 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAL. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.79.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 0.7%

WAL stock opened at $89.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.39. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $57.05 and a fifty-two week high of $98.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.98 and a 200-day moving average of $77.18.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total transaction of $209,775.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 24,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,077,527.69. This represents a 9.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.75% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

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.

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