Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $14.78 and last traded at $14.8230, with a volume of 272645 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VLY. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. National Bank Financial set a $17.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.13.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.80.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 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, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $1,225,870.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total value of $372,991.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 123.7% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. First Horizon Corp raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.