Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 29,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VLY. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 988.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 82,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 75,283 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,278,000. GTS Securities LLC grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 141.8% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 55,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 187,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 20,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 8,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ VLY traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.63. The company had a trading volume of 8,270,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,662,471. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $6.47 and a twelve month high of $11.10. The company has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.18.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.62%. The business had revenue of $479.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.55.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.