Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Stock

Key Points

• Barclays raised Valley National Bancorp’s price target from $15 to $17 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 17.86% potential upside. The analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $16.86.
• Valley National Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $0.36, beating estimates by $0.03, while revenue of $581.1 million also exceeded expectations. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $1.29.
• VLY shares recently traded at $14.42, down 0.2%, with institutional investors owning 61% of the company; several hedge funds added or initiated positions during the third quarter.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Barclays from $15.00 to $17.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.86% from the company's current price.

VLY has been the topic of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $18.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.86.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of VLY stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $14.42. 164,261 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,112,621. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $13.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.45. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $10.34 and a 12-month high of $15.20. The stock has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.07.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 20.44%. The company had revenue of $581.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cora Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $2,245,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 76.0% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 81,266 shares of the company's stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 35,087 shares in the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 16,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Flavin Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $153,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp is the bank holding company for Valley National Bank, a full-service regional bank headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey. The company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and government entities through a network of branches and digital banking channels.

Valley National Bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, consumer loans, mortgage banking, treasury management and other commercial banking services.

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