Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Acquires 218,219 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 116.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 405,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 218,219 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $33,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,461,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 17.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 314,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,970,000 after purchasing an additional 45,764 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 96,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,090,000 after buying an additional 8,201 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1,091.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,947,000 after buying an additional 31,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $727,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group started coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE:WAL opened at $78.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.43. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $53.75 and a twelve month high of $98.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.96.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 13.14%. Analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 21.41%.

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.