Aquatic Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 255,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,314,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Valley National Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $103,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $102,000. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $8.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 1.06. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $6.47 and a 52 week 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.44.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $479.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.98 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 5.14%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.77%.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total transaction of $510,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLY. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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. Citigroup lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.67.

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.