Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 35.5%, holding approximately $12.48 million worth of shares after selling 89,544 shares in the first quarter.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation reported earnings of $2.07 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, but had revenues of $836.21 million, slightly below expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 35.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 89,544 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.15% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $12,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WAL. 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. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,226,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.9% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.4% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL traded up $0.65 on Friday, reaching $89.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,009,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,104. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.98 and a 200-day moving average of $77.25. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $57.05 and a one year high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.