Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 2,920 Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,461,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 17.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 314,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,970,000 after acquiring an additional 45,764 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at $5,099,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1,091.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,947,000 after acquiring an additional 31,214 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 596,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,475,000 after purchasing an additional 174,682 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WAL shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.31.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 1.2 %

WAL opened at $80.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.70. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $53.75 and a one year high of $98.10. The stock has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.46.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $833.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 14.66% and a return on equity of 13.16%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.46%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation 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.