Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Raised to "Buy" at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Valley National Bancorp was upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Jefferies Financial Group, with a new price target of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.51% from its current price.
• Other analysts, including Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, have also raised their ratings and price targets for the stock, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $12.15.
• Valley National Bancorp's quarterly earnings showed a profit of $0.23 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue climbing 9.3% year-over-year.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $14.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $11.00. Jefferies Financial Group's target price would suggest a potential upside of 29.51% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $13.50 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. National Bankshares set a $13.50 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.15.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $10.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.23. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $7.48 and a 12 month high of $11.12.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $495.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $495.79 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 206.6% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the second quarter worth $39,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 11,831.1% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,369 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 5,324 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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