Principal Securities Inc. Raises Stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 338.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $57,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,488,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $388,197,000 after buying an additional 1,418,472 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 93.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,793,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,921 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,896,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,019,000 after buying an additional 74,956 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,883,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,369,000 after acquiring an additional 81,238 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,701,000 after buying an additional 120,729 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WAL shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL stock opened at $86.15 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.75 and a fifty-two week high of $98.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 15.49%. Analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.41%.

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.