Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Rating Increased to Buy at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup has upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, increasing the target price from $10.00 to $13.50, indicating a potential upside of 25.12%.
• The company reported earnings of $0.23 per share in its last quarterly report, surpassing analyst expectations, while revenue saw a year-over-year increase of 9.3% to $495.01 million.
• Valley National Bancorp currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with nine recommending a buy and three a hold.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $13.50 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $10.00. Citigroup's price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.12% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VLY. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, National Bankshares set a $12.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.73.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

VLY opened at $10.79 on Monday. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $7.48 and a fifty-two week high of $11.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.13.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 684,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,207,000 after purchasing an additional 18,372 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 430,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,900,000 after buying an additional 147,001 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $409,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 266,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,413,000 after buying an additional 30,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,481,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,424,000 after buying an additional 68,740 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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