Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 2,000 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $711,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,488,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $388,197,000 after buying an additional 1,418,472 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 93.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,793,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,921 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $109,298,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,522,000 after acquiring an additional 506,778 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at $39,230,000. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WAL shares. DA Davidson cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE WAL opened at $76.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.43. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $53.75 and a 1-year high of $98.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.44 and a 200-day moving average of $85.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 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.