Smead Capital Management Inc. Buys 45,543 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 3.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,350,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,543 shares during the period. Western Alliance Bancorporation comprises about 1.7% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $116,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LHM Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,141.1% in the 2nd quarter. LHM Inc. now owns 757,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,606,000 after purchasing an additional 723,995 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,112,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $328,165,000 after acquiring an additional 717,242 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,722,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,832,000 after acquiring an additional 636,577 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,522,000 after purchasing an additional 506,778 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $670,170,000 after purchasing an additional 395,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WAL shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $102.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $101.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $89.24 on Tuesday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $47.60 and a 1-year high of $96.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.89.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $833.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 23.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,634. This represents a 42.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $650,843.43. This represents a 58.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company 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.