Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Holdings in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 145,981 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,835 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $1,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLY. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 11,831.1% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 5,324 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 23.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $95,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of VLY opened at $11.33 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $7.48 and a twelve month high of $11.51. The stock has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.94.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $511.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $511.47 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 14.86% and a return on equity of 6.67%. Valley National Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $13.25.

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.