Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.07 and last traded at $15.06, with a volume of 222206 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VLY. National Bank Financial set a $17.50 target price on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 6th. Three equities 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 a consensus price target of $15.93.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $14.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.14. The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $531.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at $1,113,577.08. This trade represents a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $1,225,870.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $1,013,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 5.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 41.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $330,000. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 42.0% during the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 8,728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.