CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 9,245 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co decreased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,245 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.09% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $8,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,736,263 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $479,207,000 after acquiring an additional 278,041 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,883,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $157,369,000 after purchasing an additional 81,238 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,814,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $151,604,000 after buying an additional 648,983 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth $109,298,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 609,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,954,000 after buying an additional 95,173 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WAL shares. StockNews.com raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.92.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $65.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $75.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $56.70 and a 12-month high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $790.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $792.25 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 15.49%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. 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.

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