Stifel Financial Corp Boosts Stock Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 96,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,294 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $8,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $109,298,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,814,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,604,000 after purchasing an additional 648,983 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,522,000 after purchasing an additional 506,778 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 973.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 421,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,239,000 after purchasing an additional 382,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,736,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $479,207,000 after buying an additional 278,041 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL opened at $70.41 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.18. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $56.70 and a 12-month high of $98.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.01. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 15.49%. The firm had revenue of $790.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WAL. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.62.

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.