Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Upgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $9.50 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $8.00.

Several other research analysts have also commented on VLY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Valley National Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $8.67.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

VLY traded down $0.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $7.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,708,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,041,625. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 1.08. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $6.47 and a twelve month high of $11.22.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $884.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.67 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 6.53%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 51.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $127,001.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 224,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,734,521.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $127,001.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 224,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,734,521.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total transaction of $65,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,582,285.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 986.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 19,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 17,995 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 3,569 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 299,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,258,000 after purchasing an additional 113,527 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 153,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 44,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $137,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.