StockNews.com Downgrades Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) to Sell

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $12.50 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.78.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock traded down $0.87 on Thursday, hitting $8.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,073,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,630,909. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.11. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.47 and a 52-week high of $11.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 5.14%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total value of $510,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 5,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 2,271 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $103,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

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.