Holocene Advisors LP Takes Position in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 3,263,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,593,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VLY. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 77.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 244.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 6,415 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $107,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $11.92 on Tuesday. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $7.48 and a one year high of $13.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.07. 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 (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. Valley National Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 43.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VLY. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.40.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.