Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Sells 107,801 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 23.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 344,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 107,801 shares during the period. Western Alliance Bancorporation accounts for 1.5% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned about 0.31% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $29,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Encompass More Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,352,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 926.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 174,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,064,000 after acquiring an additional 157,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $101.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.73.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,634. This represents a 42.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $93.61 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.76. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $50.56 and a 12 month high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $833.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.46%.

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.