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

Key Points

• Stieven Capital Advisors cut its Valley National Bancorp stake by 70.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 371,400 shares and leaving it with 158,666 shares valued at about $1.85 million.
• Valley National Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.29 versus the $0.27 estimate and revenue of $1.01 billion, well above forecasts.
• The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.2%, while analysts currently have a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $15.10 price target.

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. reduced its position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 70.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 158,666 shares of the company's stock after selling 371,400 shares during the quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $1,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evoke Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $118,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 514.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 37,184 shares of the company's stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 31,137 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 107,905 shares of the company's stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 87,387 shares of the company's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 6,245 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $13.55 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $8.36 and a 1 year high of $14.12.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 39.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VLY. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $16.00 price target (up from $15.50) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $15.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 64,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company's stock.

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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