Carlos Vazquez Purchases 2,500 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Stock

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Director Carlos Vazquez purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of VLY opened at $13.16 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.23. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $7.48 and a 12-month high of $13.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.10.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $541.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. Valley National Bancorp’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VLY. Barclays boosted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $103,120,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217,716 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,554,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 260.8% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 5,239,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,197,000 after purchasing an additional 3,787,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

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.