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

Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) fell 4.4% on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $7.42 and last traded at $7.43. 1,559,110 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 6,188,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.77.

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

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLY has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.33.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total value of $406,668.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,460,136.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $92,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.4% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 122,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 2.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 104,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $504,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $243,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.