Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.9333.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of VLY stock opened at $14.95 on Monday. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $8.95 and a 12 month high of $15.20. The firm has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.07 and a 200-day moving average of $13.15. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $531.89 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 18.61%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was 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 $1,113,577.08. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 64,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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