William Blair Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management cut its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 683,219 shares and leaving it with 1.71 million shares worth about $143.9 million.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on WAL, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $92.93, though some firms recently lowered their targets.
• Western Alliance reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.22 versus expectations of $1.48 and revenue of $968.4 million, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share.

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,711,503 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 683,219 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.56% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $143,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,016,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $521,710,000 after purchasing an additional 197,854 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,979,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $518,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,537 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,674,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $318,655,000 after purchasing an additional 58,535 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,288,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $198,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,556,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $130,892,000 after purchasing an additional 223,707 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WAL shares. National Alliance Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $83.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL opened at $78.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $75.04 and its 200 day moving average is $81.68. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $65.82 and a 12-month high of $97.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $968.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.18 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 13.58%. The firm's revenue was up 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.87 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.56%.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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 services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company's core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.

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