Driehaus Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 406,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,591 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned 0.37% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $25,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $670,170,000 after buying an additional 395,101 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1,706.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after buying an additional 29,188 shares during the period. M&G Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 133,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,421,000 after buying an additional 14,734 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 166.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 32,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,128,000 after buying an additional 20,198 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,633,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,603,000 after buying an additional 20,254 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $85.58 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $88.92. The stock has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.84.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.04. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $771.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $737.97 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.4 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,634. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,634. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total value of $160,710.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,520 shares in the company, valued at $267,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,700,391 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $62.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wedbush raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.40.

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.