Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Receives $10.67 Average PT from Brokerages

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.67.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $12.50 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $9.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.12. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.47 and a 52-week high of $11.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.31.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.62%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 63.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total transaction of $510,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. The trade was a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 5,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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.