Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 19.0% in March, declining to 2,989,036 shares (about 2.8% of shares sold short) with a days-to-cover ratio of roughly 2.0.
• Heavy institutional ownership and mixed analyst views: 79.15% of shares are institutionally owned and several large funds increased stakes, while analysts collectively rate WAL a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $93.27 even as some firms trimmed targets; the stock trades near $77 with a PE of ~8.9 and a 2.2% yield.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,989,036 shares, a decline of 19.0% from the March 15th total of 3,688,093 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,485,017 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,746,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $735,350,000 after acquiring an additional 777,369 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,450,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $542,286,000 after acquiring an additional 470,492 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,016,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $521,710,000 after acquiring an additional 197,854 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,777,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $317,574,000 after buying an additional 102,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.5% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $207,670,000 after buying an additional 81,386 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WAL. Wells Fargo & Company raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Truist Financial set a $98.00 target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, National Alliance Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, March 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.27.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE WAL traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $77.33. 729,718 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,172,811. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $62.38 and a 52 week high of $97.23. The stock has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.37.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.19. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 18.04%.The company had revenue of $890.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $912.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is presently 19.24%.

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.

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