Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Shares Purchased by TCW Group Inc.

TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 46.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,119 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $3,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WAL shares. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

NYSE WAL opened at $87.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $86.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.75 and a fifty-two week high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 13.14%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.