Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.4333.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VLY shares. Hovde Group raised their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $14.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $8.95 and a 12-month high of $14.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.91.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $531.89 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 8.68%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $1,225,870.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at $868,821.18. The trade was a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 43,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 13,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

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.