Western Alliance Bancorporation Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:WAL)

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 9,656 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 68% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,738 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WAL. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday. Wedbush reduced their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth about $12,387,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 170.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,294,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,507,000 after buying an additional 815,737 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.7% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 11,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter worth about $4,873,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 489.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,333,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,320,000 after buying an additional 1,107,431 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE WAL traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,245,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,434,862. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.32. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $11.35 and a twelve month high of $70.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 16.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.63%.

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.