Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 53.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 226,768 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.18% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $15,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAL. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Compound Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, August 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.47.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 0.4%

WAL stock opened at $79.61 on Thursday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $65.82 and a 12-month high of $97.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.86.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.36. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.20% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The business had revenue of $995.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Profile

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.