Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 750.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 287,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 253,622 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $25,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,674,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,655,000 after purchasing an additional 58,535 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 215,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,681,000 after purchasing an additional 27,329 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $207,670,000 after buying an additional 81,386 shares during the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 36,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after buying an additional 10,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 568.0% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after buying an additional 14,757 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WAL. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Truist Financial set a $98.00 target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $83.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, National Alliance Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of WAL stock opened at $68.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $57.05 and a one year high of $97.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.90. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.34.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.19. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The company had revenue of $890.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 19.24%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.