State of Alaska Department of Revenue Increases Stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAL. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 338.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $77.81 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.65. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $57.05 and a fifty-two week high of $98.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial began coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.77.

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.