Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Valley National Bancorp has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating potential concerns about its stock performance.
• Despite the downgrade, nine investment analysts still rated Valley National Bancorp as a buy, with an average target price of $11.85.
• The company's stock has shown volatility, trading down 1.4% recently and having a market cap of $6.13 billion with a fifty-two week price range between $7.48 and $11.12.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on VLY. National Bankshares set a $13.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $13.50 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed 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 target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.85.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VLY traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.69. 4,502,534 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,998,410. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $7.48 and a 12-month high of $11.12. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.20. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 1.13.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $495.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $495.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,100,892 shares of the company's stock worth $9,787,000 after purchasing an additional 10,996 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 22.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Hourglass Capital LLC raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 6.3% during the first quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 444,513 shares of the company's stock worth $3,952,000 after purchasing an additional 26,280 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 33.3% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,058 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 230.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 103,159 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.