Short Interest in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Declines By 12.9%

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 26,536,615 shares, a decline of 12.9% from the February 12th total of 30,471,835 shares. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,448,184 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 7,448,184 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 38,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 195.9% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 54,562 shares in the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $155,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 65,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 12,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VLY shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.40.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ VLY opened at $11.90 on Wednesday. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $7.48 and a one year high of $13.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.58.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.56%.

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.