Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on VLY. Cowen started coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. National Bankshares set a $14.00 target price on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.54.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of VLY opened at $10.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $7.48 and a 12 month high of $11.14.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 12.87%.The company had revenue of $495.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VLY. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 988.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 82,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 75,283 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $260,000. Breakwater Capital Group acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $135,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $209,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.