Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,079,722 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,759 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $13,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VLY. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 127.3% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $868,821.18. This trade represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total value of $372,991.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 76,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.03.

Trending Headlines about Valley National Bancorp

Here are the key news stories impacting Valley National Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase & Co. kept an Overweight rating on Valley National Bancorp and trimmed its price target only modestly to $17.00 from $17.50, signaling continued confidence in upside from current levels. JPMorgan price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $16.00 from $15.00, suggesting analysts still see room for the shares to recover despite the earnings miss. KBW price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Valley National posted year-over-year revenue growth of 13.3%, helped by stronger net interest income and non-interest income, and provisions were lower, which supports the longer-term earnings outlook. Second quarter 2026 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Adjusted second-quarter EPS came in at $0.30 versus the consensus $0.31, a very small miss that was offset by slightly better-than-expected revenue. Second quarter 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: The main drag on the stock is that higher expenses kept Valley National from fully beating earnings estimates, limiting enthusiasm around an otherwise solid quarter. Earnings miss analysis

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $14.34 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $8.95 and a 52 week high of $15.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.23. The company has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 19.49%.The business had revenue of $560.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $557.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.64%.

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.