Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Director Carlos Vazquez Acquires 2,500 Shares of Stock

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Director Carlos Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ VLY opened at $13.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.35 and its 200-day moving average is $11.22. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $7.48 and a one year high of $13.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 1.10.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $541.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $103,120,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,554,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704,971 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 260.8% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 5,239,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,197,000 after purchasing an additional 3,787,203 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VLY. Barclays lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.20.

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.