Azora Capital LP Invests $103.12 Million in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 9,728,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,120,000. Valley National Bancorp comprises approximately 4.8% of Azora Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 4.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,791,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,242,000 after acquiring an additional 499,647 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,333,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,336,000 after acquiring an additional 702,774 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,197,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,635,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,468,000 after purchasing an additional 932,234 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. National Bank Financial set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $11.76 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $7.48 and a 12-month high of $13.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 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.