Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Sets New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $12.78 and last traded at $12.5790, with a volume of 5106807 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.27.

The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 14.86%.The company had revenue of $541.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.31 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on VLY shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. National Bankshares set a $14.50 target price on Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Valley National Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,478,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,072,000 after acquiring an additional 88,894 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 4.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,791,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,242,000 after purchasing an additional 499,647 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $103,120,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings 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, UBS Group AG raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704,971 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 2.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

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.