Nuveen LLC Makes New $45.49 Million Investment in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation, purchasing 592,037 shares valued at approximately $45.5 million.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation recently reported an EPS of $2.07 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, yielding 1.8%.
• Despite some positive earnings, shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation have experienced a 0.9% decline recently, with a current market capitalization of $9.27 billion.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 592,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $45,486,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.54% of Western Alliance Bancorporation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.9% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,076,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,821,000 after purchasing an additional 339,758 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,968,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $498,612,000 after purchasing an additional 154,575 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $298,887,000 after purchasing an additional 22,942 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,341,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,616,000 after purchasing an additional 445,176 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,909,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,668,000 after purchasing an additional 25,260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:WAL traded down $0.5350 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.3450. The stock had a trading volume of 186,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,106,721. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.28. The company has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.33. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $57.05 and a twelve month high of $98.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.58 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 12.62%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total transaction of $209,775.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 24,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WAL. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.62.

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.