Traders Purchase Large Volume of Valley National Bancorp Call Options (NASDAQ:VLY)

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 60,422 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,013% compared to the average volume of 2,860 call options.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ VLY opened at $10.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $7.48 and a 1 year high of $11.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.86. The firm has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 1.17.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 14.86%.The firm had revenue of $511.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $511.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. Valley National Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 107,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 366,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.8% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 145,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 23.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 13.2% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 12,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VLY shares. Citigroup upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $10.00 to $13.50 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Valley National Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $13.25.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for Valley National Bank that provides various commercial, private banking, retail, insurance, and wealth management financial services products. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Corporate other segments.