Gator Capital Management LLC Purchases 25,155 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Gator Capital Management increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 24.1% in Q4, buying 25,155 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 129,365 shares worth about $10.9 million.
• Institutional interest remains high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 79.15% of the bank’s stock, while several firms, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and M&T Bank, also boosted positions.
• Western Alliance posted solid results and returned cash to shareholders, beating earnings expectations with $2.22 EPS and 31% revenue growth year over year, while paying a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share for a 2.0% annualized yield.

Gator Capital Management LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,155 shares during the period. Western Alliance Bancorporation accounts for 2.2% of Gator Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Gator Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $10,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,674,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $318,655,000 after buying an additional 58,535 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at $13,339,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7,920.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 315,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,535,000 after acquiring an additional 311,689 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $207,670,000 after acquiring an additional 81,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 36,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 10,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $282,285. This represents a 63.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 1.4%

WAL opened at $83.47 on Friday. 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 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.46 and a 200-day moving average of $81.93. The stock has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.34.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 13.58%. The business had revenue of $968.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $944.18 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.79 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.8 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is currently 19.56%.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.

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