Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Stock Price Down 4.4% Following Weak Earnings

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)’s share price was down 4.4% during trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $7.42 and last traded at $7.43. Approximately 1,559,110 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 6,188,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.77.

The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $890.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 8.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. TheStreet cut shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.33.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total transaction of $406,668.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,460,136.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VLY. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $49,734,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 107.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,443,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,037,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,128 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,889,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257,800 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,060,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,815 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,025,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,499,000 after purchasing an additional 920,140 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 4.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 1.09.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for Valley National Bank that provides various commercial, private banking, retail, insurance, and wealth management financial services products. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Corporate other segments.