Inspire Investing LLC Buys 29,722 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 234.6% in Q1, owning 42,391 shares valued at $3,257,000 by the end of the reporting period.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation posted a quarterly EPS of $2.07, exceeding estimates, and had revenues of $836.21 million, slightly below expectations.
• Analysts have a consensus target price of $97.79 for Western Alliance Bancorporation, with 12 analysts

Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 234.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,722 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $3,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 763 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAL. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.79.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL traded up $1.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $89.11. 348,594 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,099,637. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $84.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.35. The company has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.58 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 12.62%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation 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 transaction, the insider owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. The trade was a 9.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.