Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Short Interest Up 924,714.8% in July

Key Points

• Short interest in Valley National Bancorp rose dramatically by 924,714.8% in July, reaching a total of 24,970,000 shares.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosting its holdings by 66.3% in Q4.
• Valley National Bancorp reported earnings of $0.23 EPS for the quarter, surpassing estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share with a 4.8% yield.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 24,970,000 shares, agrowthof924,714.8% from the June 30th total of 2,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 9,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of VLY traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,120,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,148,553. The company has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.09. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $7.48 and a fifty-two week high of $11.10.

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

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLY. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised Valley National Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Valley National Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $10.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,490,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,100,892 shares of the company's stock worth $9,787,000 after acquiring an additional 10,996 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Hourglass Capital LLC boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 444,513 shares of the company's stock worth $3,952,000 after acquiring an additional 26,280 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,058 shares of the company's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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.