JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Price Target to $14.50

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its target price dropped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $15.50 to $14.50 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.75% from the company’s current price.

VLY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research cut Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.64.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $12.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $12.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.69. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $7.48 and a 1 year high of $13.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,478,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,072,000 after buying an additional 88,894 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,029,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,200,000 after acquiring an additional 247,651 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $103,120,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,333,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,336,000 after acquiring an additional 702,774 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217,716 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.