Truist Financial Upgrades Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) to Buy

Key Points

• Valley National Bancorp has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Truist Financial, with a price target of $11.00 indicating a potential upside of 15.42% from its previous close.
• Despite the upgrade, analysts remain mixed on the stock, with a current rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.82 based on various analysts' assessments.
• The company reported earnings of $0.23 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue growth of 9.3%, signaling financial improvement.

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $11.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VLY. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Valley National Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.95.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

VLY stock traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $9.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,597,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,202,433. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $7.18 and a 1 year high of $11.10.

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

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VLY. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $31,490,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 1.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,100,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,787,000 after acquiring an additional 10,996 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 22.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 444,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,952,000 after acquiring an additional 26,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,058 shares of the company's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,261 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.