Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Strong-Buy” Rating

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. National Bank Financial set a $17.50 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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 company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $531.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 39.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. This trade represents a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLY. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 43,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 13,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

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.