Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 11,568,220 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 97% from the previous session’s volume of 5,883,049 shares.The stock last traded at $9.97 and had previously closed at $10.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays upgraded Valley National Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $10.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.75.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $8.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.18. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 5.87%. The company had revenue of $921.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $467.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 70.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 11.1% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 14,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 7.6% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 3.4% during the third quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 65,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 2,170 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.