Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.67.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,582,285.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,582,285.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 224,679 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,521.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VLY. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 155.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,603 shares of the company's stock worth $2,642,000 after purchasing an additional 187,917 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 32,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,987 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 111.5% during the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 70,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 37,331 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 31,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,470 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VLY traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.98. The stock had a trading volume of 8,374,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,299,407. The business's 50 day moving average is $7.23 and its 200-day moving average is $8.36. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 1.10. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $6.47 and a 52 week high of $11.22. 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 (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 7.74%. The company had revenue of $890.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $447.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.76%.

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.