Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Hovde Group Analyst Says

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Hovde Group from $16.00 to $16.50 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Hovde Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 21.77% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VLY. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $17.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.13.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

VLY stock opened at $13.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $8.36 and a 52 week high of $14.12.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $531.89 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 8.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $868,821.18. The trade was a 58.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VLY. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $103,120,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,554,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake 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 valued at $62,197,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704,971 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 260.8% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 5,239,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,197,000 after acquiring an additional 3,787,203 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.