Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 26,536,615 shares, a drop of 12.9% from the February 12th total of 30,471,835 shares. Approximately 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,448,184 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,448,184 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,189.40. This represents a 142.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,478,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,072,000 after buying an additional 88,894 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,029,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,200,000 after buying an additional 247,651 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,120,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,333,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,336,000 after acquiring an additional 702,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217,716 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Raymond James Financial raised Valley National Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.40.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $11.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.07. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $7.48 and a 12-month high of $13.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 43.56%.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, offering a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking products and services. Through its banking subsidiary, Valley National Bank, the company provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, mortgage services, treasury and cash management, foreign exchange and trade finance solutions. Complementary wealth management and insurance offerings round out its financial services platform, catering to individual, small-business and corporate clients.

Tracing its roots to the establishment of Wayne National Bank in 1927, Valley has grown into one of the largest banks in New Jersey by both assets and deposit share.