Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Price Target Raised to $16.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Valley National Bancorp to $16.00 from $15.00 while keeping an “equal weight” rating, implying about 9.85% upside from the current price.
• Other analysts have also been more constructive, with several firms lifting targets to the $16.00–$17.00 range and the stock carrying a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $15.23.
• Valley National Bancorp recently beat quarterly expectations, posting $0.29 EPS versus $0.27 expected and revenue of $1.01 billion, though shares traded down to $14.56 on Monday amid lighter-than-average volume.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 9.85% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. National Bank Financial set a $17.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Hovde Group raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.23.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

VLY traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $14.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,784,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,359,862. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.85. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $8.82 and a one year high of $14.94. The firm has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 123.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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