Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Upgraded by Piper Sandler to Overweight Rating

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $11.00 price objective on the stock.

VLY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.78.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VLY opened at $9.16 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $9.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.47 and a 52-week high of $11.10. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 1.11.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.62%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.77%.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total value of $510,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VLY. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,558,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,059,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,558,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088,466 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,002,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,020,000 after purchasing an additional 4,204,651 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $31,490,000. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $27,180,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.