Valley National Bancorp’s (VLY) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by analysts at Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $15.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $14.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 9.89% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on VLY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.10.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $13.65 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.08. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $8.36 and a twelve month high of $14.12. The company has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $540.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. Research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This trade represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 43,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 13,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 107,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is 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.