New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 11,549 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 176,814 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,549 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $1,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $93,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $93,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $130,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $136,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $137,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $7.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.39 and a 52-week high of $11.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.78.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $890.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 51.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VLY shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet lowered Valley National Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total transaction of $406,668.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,460,136.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for Valley National Bank that provides various commercial, private banking, retail, insurance, and wealth management financial services products. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Corporate other segments.