Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Valley National Bancorp has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 17 covering firms, with an average 12-month price target of about $15.93.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.29 versus the $0.27 estimate and revenue of $1.01 billion, well above forecasts.
• Valley National also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.9%, while insiders have been selling shares and institutional ownership stands at 61%.

Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.9333.

Several analysts have commented on VLY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLY. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $14.95 on Monday. Valley National Bancorp has a 1-year low of $8.95 and a 1-year high of $15.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $14.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.15.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during 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 firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.64%.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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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