Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Short Interest Up 7,972.7% in July

Key Points

• Western Alliance Bancorporation experienced a dramatic increase in short interest, rising by 7,972.7% to a total of 4,440,000 shares by mid-July.
• The company reported earnings of $2.07 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.04 and showing significant growth compared to $1.75 from the same period last year.
• Analysts have varying target price adjustments for the stock, with JPMorgan raising it to $87.00 and Piper Sandler to $105.00, suggesting a consensus of a "Moderate Buy" rating among 12 analysts.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,440,000 shares, anincreaseof7,972.7% from the June 30th total of 55,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 956,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 956,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total transaction of $209,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. This represents a 9.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Tsfg LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 995.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake 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 worth $59,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.47. 201,704 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,117,680. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $57.05 and a twelve month high of $98.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.33. The business's 50-day moving average price is $78.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WAL. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.62.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company 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.