Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,074 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.21% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $16,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 62,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,403,000 after buying an additional 6,085 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,023.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 25,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 24,695 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 635.0% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 48,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,409,000 after acquiring an additional 41,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.5% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Alliance Bancorporation

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Alliance Bancorporation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed its Buy rating on Western Alliance Bancorporation and raised its price target to $90, implying additional upside from recent trading levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Regional bank earnings have broadly improved sentiment across the group, with reports of strong revenue, loan growth, deposit growth, and solid capital positions helping support Western Alliance shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Western Alliance’s quarterly revenue beat expectations and rose sharply year over year, suggesting its core banking business remains healthy despite market worries.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage highlighted that Western Alliance’s earnings may have missed certain consensus estimates on EPS, which could temper enthusiasm even as investors focus on the broader operational strength.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several transcript and earnings-snapshot articles from the last day largely reinforce the same takeaway: the company is still being closely watched for credit trends and deposit stability after recent bank-sector volatility.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $481,626.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,485 shares in the company, valued at $282,285. This trade represents a 63.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL stock opened at $83.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.34. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $65.82 and a one year high of $97.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.22.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36. The company had revenue of $995.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.53 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.20% and a return on equity of 13.52%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.00.

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.