Retirement Systems of Alabama Takes $11.46 Million Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 132,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,461,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.12% of Western Alliance Bancorporation at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WAL shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $91.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $89.23 and its 200-day moving average is $78.95. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $53.75 and a twelve month high of $98.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 14.66% and a return on equity of 13.16%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.46%.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.