Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Trading Up 9.3%

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)’s share price was up 9.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.01 and last traded at $8.97. Approximately 2,941,657 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 5,896,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on VLY shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $9.50 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.67.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $884.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.67 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 6.53%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.76%.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total transaction of $65,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 545,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,582,285.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 461.7% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 567,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,960,000 after purchasing an additional 466,303 shares during the last quarter. Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter worth $1,693,000. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 114.8% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 221,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 118,551 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 995.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,775,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,374,000 after buying an additional 2,522,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 193.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,173,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,233,000 after buying an additional 6,703,552 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

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.