Smead Capital Management Inc. Invests $77.96 Million in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Smead Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,184,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $77,957,000. Western Alliance Bancorporation comprises approximately 1.4% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,387,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 170.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,294,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,507,000 after buying an additional 815,737 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 11,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,873,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 489.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,333,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays assumed coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.60.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 0.2 %

WAL stock traded up $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $55.59. 482,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,432,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.47. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $11.35 and a twelve month high of $70.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.32.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.02). Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $705.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.63%.

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.