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

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $14.00 to $16.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 24.44% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VLY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on 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. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $16.00 target price on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.33.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of VLY traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $12.86. 3,549,192 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,253,896. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.07. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $7.48 and a 1 year high of $13.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.51 and its 200-day moving average is $11.41.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,478,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,072,000 after acquiring an additional 88,894 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,029,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,200,000 after purchasing an additional 247,651 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $103,120,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,333,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,336,000 after purchasing an additional 702,774 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217,716 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.