Natixis Advisors L.P. Boosts Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 72.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,386 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned about 0.22% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $15,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at $12,387,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth about $77,957,000. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 86,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,697,000 after purchasing an additional 22,600 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 170.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,294,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,507,000 after purchasing an additional 815,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WAL shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.56.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $62.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.90. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $25.21 and a one year high of $70.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.68.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.50% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $711.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

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.