LHM Inc. Acquires 723,995 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

LHM Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 2,141.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 757,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 723,995 shares during the quarter. Western Alliance Bancorporation accounts for about 17.2% of LHM Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. LHM Inc. owned about 0.69% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $47,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $670,170,000 after buying an additional 395,101 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $917,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $1,983,000 after buying an additional 29,188 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc raised its position in 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 valued at $8,421,000 after buying an additional 14,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in 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 valued at $2,128,000 after buying an additional 20,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $74.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.27.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $88.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $38.81 and a 12 month high of $88.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.97 and a 200-day moving average of $66.73. The company has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,806,356.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total value of $160,710.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total value of $387,500.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,806,356.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,700,391. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

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.