Rakuten Securities Inc. Buys Shares of 995 Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,387,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 170.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,294,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,507,000 after buying an additional 815,737 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at about $4,873,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 489.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,333,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,431 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 0.3 %

WAL opened at $55.46 on Thursday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $11.35 and a 1-year high of $70.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.47.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $705.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays began coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.60.

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.