New York State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 5,056 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,056 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $1,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 645,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,218,341. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $75.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $57.05 and a 12 month high of $98.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $790.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.25 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 15.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is 20.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WAL. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $106.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.50.

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.