Hope for local public offerings? Symetra goes public, finally.

Symetra, the Bellevue-based life insurance company, went public on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, trading under the “SYA” symbol. Trading opened at $12.70 today and closed at $12.75, which, given the circumstances, isn’t bad.

The company raised $364 million in its debut stock offering. This was the second time Symetra has attempted to go public. The first time was in 2008, but the company pulled back citing unfavorable market conditions. Wise move, in retrospect.

Warren Buffett is a major investor in Symetra.

Meanwhile, Motricity, a Bellevue company that provides data services to the top five wireless carriers in the U.S., has filed for a $250 initial public offering. The company hopes to trade under the “MOTR” symbol on the Nasdaq.

Here’s the S-1 filing.