Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Key Points

• Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 19.8%, owning a total of 447,985 shares worth approximately $3.98 million, making it the firm's fifth largest holding.
• Valley National Bancorp's stock received multiple upgrades, with analysts from Royal Bank of Canada and Truist Financial setting the price target at $11.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.2%, with a payout ratio of 56.41%.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 447,985 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,050 shares during the quarter. Valley National Bancorp comprises approximately 3.6% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. owned 0.08% of Valley National Bancorp worth $3,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VLY. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 206.6% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,896 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 5,079 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLY. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.95.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $10.41 on Wednesday. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $9.45 and its 200-day moving average is $9.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 1.09.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $495.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 56.41%.

Valley National Bancorp Company 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.

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