Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Makes New Investment in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 19,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,312,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAL. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 400.7% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 696 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 118.2% during the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays started coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.60.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WAL stock traded down $0.51 on Monday, hitting $56.16. 1,104,497 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,464,610. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $11.35 and a 12 month high of $70.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.74 and a 200 day moving average of $56.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 1.47.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $705.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.63%.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.