Norges Bank Invests $109.30 Million in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,308,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $109,298,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter worth about $11,461,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 314,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,970,000 after buying an additional 45,764 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.3% during 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 during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position 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 worth $2,947,000 after buying an additional 31,214 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at $727,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL stock opened at $75.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.43. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.85 and a 200-day moving average of $85.96. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $53.75 and a 12-month high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 15.49%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. 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.