Short Interest in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Drops By 12.9%

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 26,536,615 shares, a decrease of 12.9% from the February 12th total of 30,471,835 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,448,184 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,448,184 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,478,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,072,000 after buying an additional 88,894 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,029,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,200,000 after buying an additional 247,651 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $103,120,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,333,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,336,000 after acquiring an additional 702,774 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217,716 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.4%

Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $11.92 on Tuesday. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $7.48 and a one year high of $13.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.07.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 43.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.40.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, offering a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking products and services. Through its banking subsidiary, Valley National Bank, the company provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, mortgage services, treasury and cash management, foreign exchange and trade finance solutions. Complementary wealth management and insurance offerings round out its financial services platform, catering to individual, small-business and corporate clients.

Tracing its roots to the establishment of Wayne National Bank in 1927, Valley has grown into one of the largest banks in New Jersey by both assets and deposit share.