Traders Buy Large Volume of Western Alliance Bancorporation Put Options (NYSE:WAL)

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 9,656 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 68% compared to the typical volume of 5,738 put options.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $57.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 1.47. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $11.35 and a 52-week high of $70.23. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $59.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.41.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $711.34 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 22.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 400.7% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 54.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.36.

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.