Wolverine Asset Management LLC Buys 1,064 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 44.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:WAL opened at $87.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.87. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.75 and a fifty-two week high of $98.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.41%.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.