Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Trading 4.9% Higher

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $7.67 and last traded at $7.67. 3,317,872 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 6,068,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.67.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 5.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.82.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.03). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 14.82%. The firm had revenue of $449.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $467.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 46.32%.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total transaction of $406,668.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 545,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,460,136.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VLY. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $276,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 179.4% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 34,453 shares of the company's stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 22,120 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 29.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 37,654 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 8,514 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 35,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

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.