Brokerages Set Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) PT at $14.40

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.6429.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VLY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. National Bank Financial set a $16.00 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted 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. Zacks Research cut Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $12.00 on Tuesday. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $7.48 and a fifty-two week high of $13.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.62. 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 firm has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.56%.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.45 per share, with a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 282,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 15,771 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $191,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 21.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,445,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,852,000 after buying an additional 255,870 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 34.9% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 60,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $119,000. 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.