Point72 Europe London LLP Sells 71,351 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Point72 Europe London LLP has significantly decreased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by selling 71,351 shares, representing a reduction of 78.7% in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with Wells Fargo lowering its price target to $85, while Piper Sandler raised theirs to $105, indicating confidence in future growth.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38, which reflects an annualized yield of 1.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 19.97%.

Point72 Europe London LLP reduced its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 78.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 71,351 shares during the quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $1,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nicholas Investment Partners LP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 19,639 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 24.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 99,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,277,000 after buying an additional 4,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WAL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.79.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $209,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of WAL opened at $89.64 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.98 and a 200 day moving average of $77.18. 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.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

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.

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