United Services Automobile Association Takes Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation valued at approximately $527,000, acquiring 6,926 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of Western Alliance, which represented a 9.17% decrease in his position, and now owns shares valued at over $2 million.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.07, surpassing estimates, with a projected EPS of 9.05 for the fiscal year.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $527,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 90,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,572,000 after buying an additional 5,643 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 174,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,585,000 after buying an additional 19,639 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation 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 transaction of $209,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $88.70 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $83.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.34. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $57.05 and a one year high of $98.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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