Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Cuts Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. cut its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 60.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,044 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAL. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Tsfg LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 91.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at about $139,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 53.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $85.18 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.29. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $790.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.25 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 12.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $106.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.50.

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.