Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Valley National Bancorp hit a new 52-week high after JPMorgan raised its price target from $15.00 to $17.50 and kept an overweight rating. The stock traded as high as $14.94 during the session.
• Other analysts have also been bullish, with multiple firms lifting targets and issuing Buy or positive ratings. The stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $15.43.
• The company reported solid recent results, including $0.29 EPS versus $0.27 expected and revenue of $1.01 billion. Valley National also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.11, equal to a 3.0% yield.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $15.00 to $17.50. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Valley National Bancorp traded as high as $14.94 and last traded at $14.7090, with a volume of 253630 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.80.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on VLY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. National Bank Financial set a $17.50 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 76,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. This trade represents a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 123.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 1.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.89 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 8.68%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.64%.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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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