Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Shares Bought by TCW Group Inc.

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 18.8% during the first quarter, now holding 48,819 shares valued at approximately $3.75 million.
• Several research analysts have revised their price targets for Western Alliance Bancorporation, with Barclays setting a new target of $100.00 and JPMorgan raising theirs to $87.00.
• The company recently reported an EPS of $2.07 for the last quarter, slightly surpassing analysts' expectations, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share.

TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 18.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,720 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $3,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter worth $25,000. Tsfg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 91.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 53.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $209,775.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 24,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.75% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $82.10 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.29. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $57.05 and a 12 month high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $838.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio 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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