Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,111,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WAL. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter worth $37,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $82.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.75. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $65.82 and a fifty-two week high of $97.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $968.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.18 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.58% and a net margin of 17.03%.The firm’s revenue was up 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $481,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,285. This represents a 63.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WAL shares. Barclays cut their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen downgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.