TCW Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

TCW Group Inc. bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 27,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,420,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WAL. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth approximately $5,099,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,633,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,603,000 after buying an additional 20,254 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1,091.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,947,000 after buying an additional 31,214 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 596,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,475,000 after acquiring an additional 174,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth $623,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WAL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $90.41 on Friday. 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 market cap of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.45. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $53.75 and a 1-year high of $98.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.83 and a 200-day moving average of $78.24.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. The business had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.40 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 23.46%.

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.