Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $21.39 Million Stock Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 51.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 333,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,727 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $21,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,911,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% during the first quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 29,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 75,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,959,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 11,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 1,000 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,831.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL traded down $3.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $72.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,928,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,436,658. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.62. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $38.81 and a one year high of $82.48. The firm has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $771.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $737.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 21.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.27.

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.