Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Position Boosted by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 388.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,960 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $3,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 116.9% during the 4th quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 150,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,533,000 after acquiring an additional 80,873 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 233,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,511,000 after buying an additional 59,383 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 10,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 47,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,944,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 139.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 87,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,339,000 after acquiring an additional 51,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WAL stock traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.14. 986,122 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,218,813. The company's 50 day moving average price is $77.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.00. The company has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $53.75 and a 12 month high of $98.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.