Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $121,000 Stock Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 246.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $1,216,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,725,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,510,000 after purchasing an additional 876,413 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $641,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 3,480 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL stock traded down $4.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $76.31. 1,737,887 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,240,366. The company has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.46. 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 moving average is $65.46 and its 200 day moving average is $62.45. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $38.81 and a 1 year high of $82.48.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $737.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 14.18%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WAL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total transaction of $160,710.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,344. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company 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.