AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 119.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 252,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 137,577 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $15,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAL. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 13.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 961,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,396,000 after buying an additional 116,322 shares during the period. Stanley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,737,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 596,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,475,000 after acquiring an additional 174,682 shares during the period. LHM Inc. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,141.1% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 170.5% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 18,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 11,448 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total transaction of $387,500.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,356.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total transaction of $387,500.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,356.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,700,391. Company insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 3.2 %

WAL opened at $83.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.44. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $38.81 and a 12 month high of $88.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.36.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WAL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.87.

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.