Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Price Target Raised to $14.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and kept a "market perform" rating, implying roughly a 5.4% upside.
• The Street consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $14.71, and several analysts maintain Buy/Strong Buy ratings with targets up to $16.00.
• Valley beat the quarter with $0.31 EPS versus $0.29 expected and reported $1.01 billion in revenue (up 14.1% year-over-year), indicating improving fundamentals.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $13.00 to $14.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target suggests a potential upside of 5.38% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on VLY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. National Bank Financial set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.71.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VLY traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.29. 6,999,884 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,192,129. The firm has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.03. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $7.64 and a twelve month high of $13.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 258,002 shares of the company's stock worth $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 128,563 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $2,714,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 487,330 shares of the company's stock worth $5,166,000 after acquiring an additional 128,865 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $792,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,522,310 shares of the company's stock worth $16,136,000 after acquiring an additional 90,500 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 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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