Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 17,324 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 229,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,324 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $19,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the second quarter worth about $137,289,000. Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,072,000. Global Frontier Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,224,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,435,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,921,000 after buying an additional 231,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.3% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,194,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $190,318,000 after buying an additional 223,425 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial set a $98.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of WAL opened at $94.43 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.39 and its 200 day moving average is $84.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $57.05 and a fifty-two week high of $94.68.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $980.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.69 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 19.24%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.