Nomura Holdings Inc. Acquires New Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 14,472 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,209,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nicholas Investment Partners LP increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 174,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,585,000 after acquiring an additional 19,639 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 96,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,090,000 after buying an additional 8,201 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 99,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,277,000 after buying an additional 4,909 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at $727,000. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 417,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,842,000 after buying an additional 2,772 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WAL shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $106.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.77.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.56. 481,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,227,333. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $56.70 and a 12-month high of $98.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $71.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.01. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $790.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.85%.

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.