Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Stock

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target suggests a potential upside of 27.19% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.40.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $12.58 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.46. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $7.48 and a 1 year high of $13.87.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 282,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 15,771 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the first quarter worth $191,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 21.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,445,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,852,000 after buying an additional 255,870 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 34.9% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 60,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $119,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.