First National Trust Co Trims Stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

First National Trust Co reduced its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLY. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 11.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 26.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 14,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,041 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VLY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.50 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total value of $510,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

VLY stock opened at $8.80 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 1.11.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.02). 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 business posted $0.22 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.77%.

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.