Bleakley Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth $11,461,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 314,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,970,000 after buying an additional 45,764 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth $5,099,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1,091.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,947,000 after buying an additional 31,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth $623,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WAL. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $89.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $53.75 and a 1 year high of $98.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.09.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 8.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.