StockNews.com Downgrades Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on VLY. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.60.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of VLY traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $9.05. 7,460,020 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,316,244. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.05. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $6.47 and a 1 year high of $11.10. The stock's 50 day moving average is $8.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.39.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $479.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $483.98 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is 63.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 206.6% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 2,896 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.