Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Trading Up 5.8% - Here's Why

Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) rose 5.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $9.69 and last traded at $9.65. Approximately 2,712,933 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 5,814,269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.88.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 5.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average is $8.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.18. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 6.53%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 61.97%.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 49,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,370 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 6,521 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $131,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 557.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 7,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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.