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

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in 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 topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. DA Davidson cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL stock 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $53.75 and a 1 year high of $98.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.09.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 8.99 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.41%.

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.