SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 278.5% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 53,451 shares valued at about $3.79 million.
• Western Alliance reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $2.22 beating estimates by $0.74 and revenue rising 31% year over year to $968.4 million.
• The stock is drawing mixed signals: analysts currently rate WAL a Moderate Buy on average, while an insider recently sold shares and the company continues to pay a quarterly dividend yielding about 2.0%.

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 278.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 39,328 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $3,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,674,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $318,655,000 after purchasing an additional 58,535 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at $13,339,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $26,535,000 after purchasing an additional 311,689 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,179,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $102,288,000 after buying an additional 310,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 315,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,321,000 after purchasing an additional 31,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 0.8%

WAL opened at $82.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $79.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.78. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $65.82 and a one year high of $97.23. The stock has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.34.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.74. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 17.03%.The business had revenue of $968.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.18 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.81 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WAL. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, March 9th. National Alliance Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was 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 directly owned 3,485 shares in the company, valued at $282,285. The trade was a 63.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WAL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.