Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Holdings Boosted by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 870.4% in the first quarter, owning 60,000 shares valued at approximately $533,000.
• Valley National Bancorp received multiple upgrades from analysts, with target prices raised to $11.00 from various firms, indicating growing investor confidence.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, yielding 4.69%, with a payout ratio of 56.41% as of the latest data.

Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 870.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 53,817 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLY. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 206.6% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 5,079 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 219.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,571 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ VLY traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.18. The company had a trading volume of 9,328,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,557,002. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $7.18 and a fifty-two week high of $11.10. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm's 50 day moving average is $9.12 and its 200 day moving average is $9.13.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $495.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.79 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 12.87%. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VLY. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Valley National Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised Valley National Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.95.

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.