Smead Capital Management Inc. Acquires 223,707 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,556,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 223,707 shares during the period. Western Alliance Bancorporation makes up about 2.7% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned 1.41% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $130,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WAL. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 113.0% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. National Alliance Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 6th. TD Cowen cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of WAL opened at $78.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $65.82 and a 12-month high of $97.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.68.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $968.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.18 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 13.58%. The business’s revenue was up 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 19.56%.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.