Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Upgraded by Piper Sandler to Strong-Buy Rating

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on VLY. Raymond James Financial raised Valley National Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. National Bank Financial set a $16.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $14.77.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of VLY stock opened at $13.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.90. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $8.04 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.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.