Holocene Advisors LP Acquires Shares of 3,263,507 Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Key Points

• Holocene Advisors bought a new stake of 3,263,507 shares of Valley National Bancorp valued at about $34.6 million, representing roughly 0.59% of the company at quarter-end while institutional investors own about 61% of VLY.
• Valley reported a quarterly beat with $0.31 EPS versus a $0.29 consensus and revenue of $1.01 billion (up 14.1% year-over-year), well above analyst estimates.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 (annualized $0.44, ~3.7% yield; ex-dividend March 13) and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $14.40 price target from analysts.

Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,263,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,593,000. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.59% of Valley National Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLY. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 99.3% during the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 258,002 shares of the company's stock worth $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 128,563 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,276,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 35.9% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 487,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,166,000 after purchasing an additional 128,865 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 6.3% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,522,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,136,000 after purchasing an additional 90,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $792,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on VLY shares. Hovde Group upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. National Bank Financial set a $16.00 target price on Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.40.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $11.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company's 50 day moving average price is $12.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.57. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $7.48 and a 52 week high of $13.87.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.56%.

Valley National Bancorp Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.