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

Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 507 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 167.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL traded down $2.82 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $88.27. 1,122,375 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,260,193. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $53.75 and a 1-year high of $98.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.95. 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 (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.10). Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 14.66% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The business had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $811.40 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.75.

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.