Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Valley National Bancorp reached a new 52-week high following an upgrade from Jefferies Financial Group, which raised its price target to $14.00 from $11.00.
• The stock has been rated as a "buy" by ten analysts, with an average target price of $12.15, underscoring positive sentiment in the market.
• Valley National Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, representing a 4.0% yield, with a payout ratio of 56.41%.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Jefferies Financial Group now has a $14.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $11.00. Valley National Bancorp traded as high as $11.14 and last traded at $10.98, with a volume of 846517 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.81.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on VLY. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. National Bankshares set a $13.50 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $13.50 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.15.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 4.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 22,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 5,329 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,189,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,779,000 after purchasing an additional 199,097 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.03 and a 200 day moving average of $9.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $495.79 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 12.87%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. On average, research 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 given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.41%.

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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