Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Shares Acquired by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 35.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 86,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,600 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $5,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 422.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAL. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.60.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WAL stock opened at $55.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 1.47. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $11.35 and a 1-year high of $70.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.32.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $705.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 16.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.