Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Trading 4.9% Higher

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)’s share price was up 4.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $7.67 and last traded at $7.67. Approximately 3,317,872 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 6,068,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VLY shares. Wedbush reduced their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays started coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet lowered Valley National Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.67.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 5.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.83.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $449.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $467.49 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 8.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.71%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.32%.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total transaction of $406,668.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at $4,460,136.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.9% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 14,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after buying an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.1% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 47,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 26,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 144,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.