Valley National Bancorp $VLY Shares Sold by Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.

Key Points

• Stieven Capital Advisors cut its stake in Valley National by 56.5%, selling 688,100 shares in Q3 and ending the quarter with 530,066 shares (about 0.10% of the company) valued at roughly $5.62 million.
• Analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus on VLY with a consensus target of $14.40, and several firms including Hovde and Weiss recently raised ratings or price targets.
• Valley beat quarterly EPS estimates (reported $0.31 vs. $0.29), posted revenue of $1.01 billion, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.11 (annualized yield ~3.7%, ex-dividend March 13).

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lowered its position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 56.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 530,066 shares of the company's stock after selling 688,100 shares during the quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.10% of Valley National Bancorp worth $5,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 244.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $93,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 6,415 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Hovde Group increased their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.40.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VLY opened at $11.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $7.48 and a one year high of $13.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company's fifty day moving average is $12.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.55.

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

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Valley National Bancorp 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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