JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,790 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.22% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $21,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at about $13,339,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 78.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 4,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $562,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter worth $1,164,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $69.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.63. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $57.05 and a 52 week high of $97.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.19. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 18.04%.The firm had revenue of $890.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson cut their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company 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.