Short Interest in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Grows By 924,714.8%

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 target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,485,474 shares of the company's stock worth $22,518,000 after acquiring an additional 991,084 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,490,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 779,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,063,000 after buying an additional 1,954 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 88.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 20,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 9,714 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 88,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 21,491 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VLY shares. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.95.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 0.7%

VLY stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.21. 4,442,963 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,173,671. The firm's 50 day moving average is $9.11 and its 200 day moving average is $9.13. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $7.18 and a twelve month high of $11.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.06.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.01. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

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.

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