Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 1,308,334 Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,308,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $109,298,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.19% of Western Alliance Bancorporation as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew 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 buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WAL. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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 lowered their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL traded down $12.26 on Thursday, reaching $65.39. 4,331,149 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,181,059. The firm has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.43. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $53.75 and a 1-year high of $98.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.56 and a 200-day moving average of $85.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 13.14%. Equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given 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 yield of 2.32%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is 21.41%.

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.