Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $10.63 Million Stock Position in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 15.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,002,908 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189,264 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Valley National Bancorp worth $10,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 99.3% during the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 258,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,735,000 after buying an additional 128,563 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,276,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 487,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,166,000 after acquiring an additional 128,865 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $792,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 6.3% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,522,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,136,000 after purchasing an additional 90,500 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of VLY opened at $12.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.41. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $7.48 and a 52-week high of $13.87.

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

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on VLY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Two research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.20.

Valley National Bancorp 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.