First Trust Advisors LP Buys 80,308 Shares of Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors increased its Valley National Bancorp stake by 6%, purchasing 80,308 shares to own 1.41 million shares valued at approximately $17.3 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 61% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Valley National receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $16.03, above its $14.28 opening price.
• Valley reported quarterly revenue of $560.7 million, up 13.3% year over year, though EPS of $0.30 narrowly missed estimates. The bank also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, representing a 3.1% annualized yield.

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,411,434 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 80,308 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.25% of Valley National Bancorp worth $17,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,029,085 shares of the company's stock worth $152,200,000 after buying an additional 247,651 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company's stock worth $79,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $71,554,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,409 shares of the company's stock worth $70,365,000 after acquiring an additional 224,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company's stock worth $62,197,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704,971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.03.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $14.28 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average is $14.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.29. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $8.95 and a 52-week high of $15.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company had revenue of $560.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $557.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 37.29%.

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 that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total value of $372,991.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 76,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,113,577.08. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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