Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $1.70 Million Investment in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Valley National Bancorp, buying 138,800 shares worth about $1.7 million in the first quarter.
• Wall Street remains broadly upbeat on VLY, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and average target price of $15.43.
• Valley National Bancorp reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.29 EPS versus the $0.27 estimate and revenue of $1.01 billion, while also paying a 3.0% dividend yield.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 138,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VLY. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth $103,120,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company's stock worth $79,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217,716 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,554,000. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 260.8% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 5,239,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,197,000 after buying an additional 3,787,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $17.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $17.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.43.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $14.80 on Thursday. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $8.95 and a 52 week high of $14.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $531.89 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 18.61%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. This trade represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $1,225,870.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at $868,821.18. The trade was a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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