Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Acquires 977 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 180,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.16% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $15,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $106.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.38.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL stock opened at $78.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.85 and a 200-day moving average of $82.11. The company has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $56.70 and a 52 week high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.01. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $790.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.85%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company 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.