Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 367,981 Shares of Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp dramatically increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp in the first quarter, buying 367,981 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 371,427 shares worth about $4.56 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on VLY, with firms including Truist, JPMorgan, and Cantor Fitzgerald raising price targets; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $15.93.
• Valley National also reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and recently paid a $0.11 quarterly dividend that annualizes to a 2.9% yield.

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 10,678.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 371,427 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 367,981 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.07% of Valley National Bancorp worth $4,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 12.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 61,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,951 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 98,193 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,206,000 after buying an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 25,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 3,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $133,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VLY. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $17.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $868,821.18. This trade represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ VLY opened at $14.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $8.95 and a 52 week high of $15.20.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $531.89 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 8.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

Valley National Bancorp Profile

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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