Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on VLY. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $17.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $17.50 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.63.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $14.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.03. 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 12-month low of $8.95 and a 12-month high of $15.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 18.61%.The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.64%.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at $1,113,577.08. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $2,714,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth $4,753,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 141.7% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 199,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,447,000 after acquiring an additional 116,826 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $34,593,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $103,120,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.