South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,100 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned approximately 0.10% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $9,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,670,000 after buying an additional 81,386 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.3% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,194,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $190,318,000 after acquiring an additional 223,425 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,035,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,755,000 after purchasing an additional 104,182 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $137,289,000. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,435,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,921,000 after purchasing an additional 231,159 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

NYSE WAL opened at $79.54 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.36. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $57.05 and a fifty-two week high of $97.23. The company has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $980.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $912.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 19.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WAL shares. Truist Financial set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation 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.