Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Increases Stock Position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,643 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 557.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 7,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $95,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This represents a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $12.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.67.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of VLY stock opened at $9.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.43. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $6.47 and a one year high of $11.10.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.62%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.77%.

Valley National Bancorp 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.