Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Trading Down 4.4% on Disappointing Earnings

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) was down 4.4% on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $7.42 and last traded at $7.43. Approximately 1,559,110 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 6,188,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.77.

The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $890.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 14.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued 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 6.01%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VLY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Valley National Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.33.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLY. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $92,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 122,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 104,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $504,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $243,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.81.

Valley National Bancorp Company 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.