Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Price Target Raised to $16.00 at Cantor Fitzgerald

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its price objective raised by Cantor Fitzgerald from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

VLY has been the topic of several other reports. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research cut Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $16.00 price objective on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.40.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $12.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $7.48 and a 1 year high of $13.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $12.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.45.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 43.56%.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 282,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 15,771 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $191,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,445,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,852,000 after purchasing an additional 255,870 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 60,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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.