Azora Capital LP Trims Position in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Azora Capital LP reduced its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,798,088 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,930,197 shares during the quarter. Valley National Bancorp accounts for approximately 5.7% of Azora Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Azora Capital LP owned about 1.40% of Valley National Bancorp worth $91,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VLY. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $71,554,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704,971 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 260.8% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 5,239,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,197,000 after purchasing an additional 3,787,203 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $34,593,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price (up from $14.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $16.00 target price (up from $15.50) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.13.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

VLY stock opened at $13.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.70. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $8.36 and a 52-week high of $14.72.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 64,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,113,577.08. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Company 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.