Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $2,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAL. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 58.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WAL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL stock opened at $85.35 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $53.75 and a 1 year high of $98.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $86.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.03.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 21.41%.

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.