Ieq Capital LLC Takes $18.21 Million Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 221,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,206,000. Ieq Capital LLC owned about 0.20% of Western Alliance Bancorporation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $926,898,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $125,482,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the second quarter worth $72,621,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,746,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $735,350,000 after acquiring an additional 777,369 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,450,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $542,286,000 after acquiring an additional 470,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $481,626.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,285. The trade was a 63.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAL. Stifel Nicolaus set a $95.00 price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Stephens set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.47.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $79.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.22. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.82 and a fifty-two week high of $97.23. The company has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.36. The firm had revenue of $995.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.53 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.20% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.