Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at UBS Group

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) was upgraded by UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.63.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $14.66 on Tuesday. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $8.95 and a 12 month high of $15.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 76,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,113,577.08. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of Valley National Bancorp 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This trade represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,029,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,200,000 after purchasing an additional 247,651 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $103,120,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217,716 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $71,554,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,365,000 after purchasing an additional 224,996 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is currently 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.