Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Price Target Cut to $14.50 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $15.50 to $14.50 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.64.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of VLY stock opened at $12.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.03. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $7.48 and a fifty-two week high of $13.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.69.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 approximately $57,189.40. This represents a 142.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VLY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 worth $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 15,771 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $191,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 21.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,445,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,852,000 after purchasing an additional 255,870 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 34.9% during the first 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. purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $119,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.