Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $260,000 in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 29,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 5,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VLY opened at $8.92 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $6.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 1.06.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 5.14%. The business had revenue of $479.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VLY shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.55.

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.