Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY – Get Free Report) and Blue Foundry Bancorp (NASDAQ:BLFY – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and risk.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
61.0% of Valley National Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of Blue Foundry Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Valley National Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Blue Foundry Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Valley National Bancorp and Blue Foundry Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Valley National Bancorp | $3.49 billion | 1.92 | $597.98 million | $1.01 | 11.99 |
| Blue Foundry Bancorp | $87.25 million | 3.10 | -$11.91 million | ($0.46) | -28.28 |
Valley National Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Blue Foundry Bancorp. Blue Foundry Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Valley National Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Valley National Bancorp and Blue Foundry Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Valley National Bancorp | 17.11% | 7.92% | 0.92% |
| Blue Foundry Bancorp | -9.82% | -2.84% | -0.44% |
Risk and Volatility
Valley National Bancorp has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Blue Foundry Bancorp has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Valley National Bancorp and Blue Foundry Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Valley National Bancorp | 0 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 2.94 |
| Blue Foundry Bancorp | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $14.40, indicating a potential upside of 18.91%. Given Valley National Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Valley National Bancorp is more favorable than Blue Foundry Bancorp.
Summary
Valley National Bancorp beats Blue Foundry Bancorp on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Valley National Bancorp
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. The company offers non-interest bearing, savings, NOW, money market, and time deposit accounts; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and automobile loans; loans secured by the cash surrender value of life insurance; home equity loans and lines of credit; automobile financing; and secured and unsecured other consumer loans. It also invests in various securities and interest-bearing deposits with other banks; and provides international banking services, such as standby and documentary letters of credit, and related products, as well as foreign exchange transactions, documentary collections, and foreign wire transfers services. In addition, the company offers investment services for individuals and small to medium sized businesses; and trusts investment strategies designed for various investment profiles and objectives. Further, it provides trust services, such as living and testamentary trusts, investment management, custodial and escrow services, and estate administration to individuals; tax credit advisory services; brokerage services; property and casualty, life, health, and title insurance agency services; and health care equipment lending and other commercial equipment leasing services, as well as owns real estate related investments. Additionally, the company offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services; receivable, payment, and security solution, merchant, payroll processing, and liquidity services; credit cards; and drive-in and night deposit, automated teller machine, remote deposit capture, and safe deposit facility services. Valley National Bancorp was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey.
About Blue Foundry Bancorp
Blue Foundry Bancorp operates as a bank holding company for Blue Foundry Bank, a savings bank that offers various banking products and services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers saving, time, and non-interest bearing deposits; demand accounts; and loans, such as one-to-four family residential property, multi-family, residential real estate, non-residential real estate, consumer, construction, and commercial and industrial loans, as well as junior liens and home equity lines of credit. The company was formerly known as Boiling Springs Bancorp and changed its name to Blue Foundry Bancorp in July 2019. Blue Foundry Bancorp was founded in 1939 and is based in Rutherford, New Jersey.
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