Ovata Capital Management Ltd Purchases New Position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Ovata Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 600,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,436,000. Valley National Bancorp comprises approximately 2.1% of Ovata Capital Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Ovata Capital Management Ltd owned approximately 0.12% of Valley National Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,002,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,020,000 after buying an additional 4,204,651 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 90.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,059,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,558,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,821,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,122,000 after acquiring an additional 656,200 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,612,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,966,000 after acquiring an additional 640,933 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,211,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,276,000 after purchasing an additional 534,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $8.05 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.51. 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 $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.06. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $6.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.10.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its earnings results 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. Analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.47%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler raised Valley National Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total transaction of $510,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,056,492.29. The trade was a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.