Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Buys New Shares in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,014,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.9% during the first 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $191,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 60,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $235,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,189.40. This represents a 142.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VLY shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.20.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $13.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 1.10. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $7.48 and a twelve month high of $13.87.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $541.25 million during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp 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.