Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Cut to "Sell" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $12.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.67.

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Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:VLY traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $8.21. The stock had a trading volume of 7,044,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,050,642. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.46. Valley National Bancorp has a 1-year low of $6.47 and a 1-year high of $11.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.06.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.36%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,056,492.29. The trade was a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $31,490,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 66,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,600 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 5,181 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,101,280 shares of the company's stock worth $55,278,000 after buying an additional 1,327,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 41.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,494,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,539,000 after buying an additional 439,831 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

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.