Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Price Target Raised to $9.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VLY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $8.61.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 2.4 %

VLY opened at $8.03 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $6.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.22. The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 1.08. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.87.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.07). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 6.53%. The company had revenue of $884.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.67 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.48%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 51.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total value of $65,700.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total transaction of $65,700.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLY. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,301,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 378.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 612,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,874,000 after purchasing an additional 484,332 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,623,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,294,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,361,000 after purchasing an additional 259,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 60.9% in 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 buying an additional 113,527 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by 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.