Holocene Advisors LP Purchases 173,894 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 64.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 443,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 173,894 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.40% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $38,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 93.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,793,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,921 shares during the period. LHM Inc. grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,141.1% during the second quarter. LHM Inc. now owns 757,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,606,000 after purchasing an additional 723,995 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,722,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,832,000 after buying an additional 636,577 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,522,000 after buying an additional 506,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth $38,386,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,634. The trade was a 42.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL stock opened at $93.21 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $87.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.96. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $53.22 and a one year high of $98.10. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly 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). Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $833.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.40 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 23.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WAL shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.73.

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.