AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has significantly increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp, now owning approximately **10.2 million shares** valued at **$89.31 million**, marking a **101.5% increase** during the 1st quarter.
• Valley National Bancorp recently reported **$0.23 EPS**, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of **$495.01 million** for the quarter, reflecting a **9.3% growth** year-over-year.
• The company announced a **quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share**, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of **4.1%**, with the payout ratio standing at **56.41%**.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 101.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,218,329 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,147,786 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.82% of Valley National Bancorp worth $89,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,100,892 shares of the company's stock worth $9,787,000 after purchasing an additional 10,996 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 22.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 6.3% in the first quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 444,513 shares of the company's stock worth $3,952,000 after purchasing an additional 26,280 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 33.3% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,058 shares of the company's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 4,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 230.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,833 shares of the company's stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 103,159 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

VLY stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.73. 1,355,926 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,961,748. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $7.48 and a 52 week high of $11.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 1.13.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $495.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.79 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.23.

Valley National Bancorp Profile

Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for Valley National Bank that provides various commercial, private banking, retail, insurance, and wealth management financial services products. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Corporate other segments.