Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires 20,421 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 128.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $2,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WAL. Cincinnati Casualty Co. purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at about $475,000. Cincinnati Insurance Co. purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,538,000. Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Insurance CO bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter worth approximately $764,000. CSU Producer Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter worth approximately $288,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,196,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,799,000 after purchasing an additional 11,976 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,831.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WAL traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 927,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,089. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of 9.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.46. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $38.77 and a 12 month high of $70.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.35.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.77% and a net margin of 16.50%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.29.

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.