Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $14.19 and last traded at $14.2030, with a volume of 622019 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $17.00 price objective on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.13.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.59. The company has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $531.89 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $868,821.18. The trade was a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 123.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 61.00% of the stock is 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.