Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: 17 analysts rate Valley National Bancorp a Moderate Buy (12 buys, 3 holds, 2 strong buys) with an average 12‑month price target of $15.17, and several firms (e.g., Cantor Fitzgerald, Morgan Stanley) recently raised targets to $16.
• Quarterly results and yield: Valley beat Q1 estimates with EPS $0.29 vs. $0.27 and revenue $540.4M vs. $531.9M; the stock trades near $13.65 (P/E 12.3) and pays a $0.11 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.44, ~3.2% yield).
• Ownership moves: COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares (reducing his stake by ~58.5%) while a director bought 2,500 shares; insiders own 1.06% of the stock and institutional/hedge fund ownership is about 61%.

Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.1667.

VLY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Valley National Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $1,225,870.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $868,821.18. This trade represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,478,489 shares of the company's stock worth $323,072,000 after acquiring an additional 88,894 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,029,085 shares of the company's stock worth $152,200,000 after purchasing an additional 247,651 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $103,120,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,333,597 shares of the company's stock worth $88,336,000 after purchasing an additional 702,774 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217,716 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.4%

VLY opened at $13.65 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $8.36 and a one year high of $14.12. The company has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $12.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.08.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $540.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $531.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

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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