Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL Shares Bought by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its Western Alliance Bancorporation stake by 7,896.6% in the second quarter, acquiring 9.82 million additional shares. It now owns 9.11% of WAL, valued at approximately $817.3 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with 11 Buy ratings and four Holds. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $95.47, above its reported opening price of $79.27.
• Western Alliance reported second-quarter EPS of $2.36, matching estimates, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year to $995.7 million. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.42, representing a 2.1% annualized yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 7,896.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,943,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,819,060 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 9.11% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $817,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Compound Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WAL. Stifel Nicolaus set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson set a $36.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.47.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $79.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.70. The stock has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $65.82 and a 1-year high of $97.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.20% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The company had revenue of $995.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $980.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Western Alliance Bancorporation's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.16 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is 18.92%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals and individual customers.

Western Alliance Bank offers commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, treasury management, deposit products, mortgage warehouse lending and other specialized banking services. Its business lines also serve technology companies, life sciences firms, entertainment businesses, homeowners' associations, institutional investors and other niche markets.

The company serves customers through a combination of relationship-focused regional banking and specialized national platforms.

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