Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $278.83 Million Stock Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,337,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 82,626 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 3.03% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $278,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $106.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.62.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock traded up $2.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $70.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,152,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,678. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.34 and a 200-day moving average of $83.53. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $56.70 and a 52 week 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 cap of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $790.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is 21.41%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation 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.