448,440 Shares in Valley National Bancorp $VLY Acquired by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 448,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,753,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 244.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $96,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VLY. UBS Group assumed coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. 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 report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $16.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $11.74 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 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 has a 12 month low of $7.48 and a 12 month high of $13.87.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 43.56%.

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.