Morgan Stanley Increases Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Price Target to $17.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Valley National Bancorp’s price target from $16.00 to $17.00 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 21.3% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $16.17; other firms have issued targets ranging from $16.50 to $17.50.
• Valley National reported quarterly EPS of $0.30, slightly below the $0.31 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 13.3% year over year to $560.74 million.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.30% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VLY. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. National Bank Financial set a $17.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.17.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of VLY traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $14.02. The company had a trading volume of 2,175,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,074,912. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $9.64 and a 52-week high of $15.20.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 19.49%.The company had revenue of $560.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $557.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Valley National Bancorp's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valley National Bancorp news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total value of $372,991.85. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,079,026,000. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $150,121,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1,178.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,957,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,571,000 after buying an additional 7,334,837 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,554,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

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.

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