Bayforest Capital Ltd Purchases 53,817 Shares of Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 870.4%, owning 60,000 shares worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 53,817 shares in Q1.
• Valley National Bancorp recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, equating to an annual yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 56.41%.
• The company reported $0.23 earnings per share in its latest earnings results, surpassing consensus estimates and showing a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase.

Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 870.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 53,817 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VLY. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 1.1% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 113,681 shares of the company's stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 1.0% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 133,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 7.8% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 19,142 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 55,597 shares of the company's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.8% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,456 shares of the company's stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VLY. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. National Bankshares set a $12.00 price objective on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.54.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 0.1%

VLY stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,524,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,178,801. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $7.48 and a 52 week high of $11.10. The stock has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $9.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.16.

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

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.