Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 1,686 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 534,111 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,686 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $5,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter worth $93,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter worth $93,000. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter worth $130,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $7.73 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.78. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $6.39 and a 52 week high of $11.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $890.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 7.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.69%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays initiated coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Wedbush cut their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total value of $406,668.70. Following the sale, 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 this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.