UBS Group Upgrades Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) to “Strong-Buy”

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $17.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.63.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $14.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.03. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $8.95 and a twelve month high of $15.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at $1,113,577.08. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 123.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the fourth 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. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

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.