Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.7%, selling 9,963 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 257,227 shares valued at $19,763,000.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on Western Alliance Bancorporation, with price targets ranging from $80.00 to $105.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on 12 buy ratings and 2 hold ratings.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.9%, with a payout ratio of 19.97%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,963 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $19,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,226,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the 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 owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. This represents a 9.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:WAL traded up $1.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.13. The stock had a trading volume of 759,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,140,953. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.44 and its 200 day moving average is $77.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.86. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $57.05 and a 52 week high of $98.10. The stock has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.33.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.62.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Profile

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.