Robert Sarver, Executive Chairman at Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL), recently added 25,000 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 2.2 percent, and came to a total price of just over $1.92 million.
He was joined by the company’s Vice Chairman, who bought 2,000 shares on the same day, coming to a total price of about $77,770. Company insiders have been active so far this year with a number of buys, but only one sale.
Over the past three years, however, insiders have been more likely to be sellers than buyers. Insiders at the regional bank own just over 2.7 percent of shares.
Shares of the bank have slid about 19 percent over the past year, but have been in an uptrend in the shorter term. The bank is attractively priced at under 10 times forward earnings, and sports a hefty 45 percent profit margin.
Action to take: Investors may like shares here. The company pays a 1.8 percent starting yield here, with a low payout ratio making future dividend increases likely. Shares can likely continue higher even as interest rates start to rise later this year.
For traders, shares look set to move higher again, having settled into a slightly range over the past few months. The May $95 calls, last going for about $3.10, offer mid-to-high double-digit returns in the coming weeks should shares continue higher.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.