Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Receives $14.20 Average Price Target from Analysts

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.20.

VLY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $16.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VLY. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,120,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 6,217,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,554,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,197,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 260.8% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 5,239,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,197,000 after acquiring an additional 3,787,203 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $12.87 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.34. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $541.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. Valley National Bancorp’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.56%.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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.