Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Sells 616,242 Shares of Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners cut its Valley National Bancorp stake by 63.7%, selling 616,242 shares and retaining 350,732 shares worth approximately $4.3 million.
• Valley National reported second-quarter revenue of $560.74 million, up 13.3% year over year and above estimates, but adjusted EPS of $0.30 narrowly missed the $0.31 consensus due partly to higher expenses.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $16.03; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, yielding about 3.1% annually.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lessened its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 63.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 350,732 shares of the company's stock after selling 616,242 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Valley National Bancorp worth $4,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Valley National Bancorp News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Valley National Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase & Co. kept an Overweight rating on Valley National Bancorp and trimmed its price target only modestly to $17.00 from $17.50, signaling continued confidence in upside from current levels. JPMorgan price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $16.00 from $15.00, suggesting analysts still see room for the shares to recover despite the earnings miss. KBW price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Valley National posted year-over-year revenue growth of 13.3%, helped by stronger net interest income and non-interest income, and provisions were lower, which supports the longer-term earnings outlook. Second quarter 2026 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Adjusted second-quarter EPS came in at $0.30 versus the consensus $0.31, a very small miss that was offset by slightly better-than-expected revenue. Second quarter 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: The main drag on the stock is that higher expenses kept Valley National from fully beating earnings estimates, limiting enthusiasm around an otherwise solid quarter. Earnings miss analysis

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.03.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

VLY opened at $14.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $14.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.24. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $8.95 and a twelve month high of $15.20.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $560.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $557.16 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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