Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Sells 107,801 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. trimmed its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 23.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 344,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 107,801 shares during the quarter. Western Alliance Bancorporation makes up 1.5% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $29,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 58.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $93.61 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.69 and its 200 day moving average is $76.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $50.56 and a 52 week high of $98.10. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. Research analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 23.46%.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were 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 owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,634. This represents a 42.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Profile

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.