Oak Thistle LLC Buys Shares of 3,128 Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth $93,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 0.3 %

WAL opened at $62.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.38. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $35.67 and a 52 week high of $70.23. The company has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 21.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $64,200.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,831.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.71.

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.