Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Raised to Strong-Buy at Piper Sandler

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) was upgraded by investment analysts at Piper Sandler to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.50 to $14.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.77.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of VLY stock opened at $13.59 on Monday. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $8.04 and a 12 month high of $13.87. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.90.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. This represents a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VLY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 282,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,508,000 after buying an additional 15,771 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $191,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,445,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,852,000 after buying an additional 255,870 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 60,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, offering a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking products and services. Through its banking subsidiary, Valley National Bank, the company provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, mortgage services, treasury and cash management, foreign exchange and trade finance solutions. Complementary wealth management and insurance offerings round out its financial services platform, catering to individual, small-business and corporate clients.

Tracing its roots to the establishment of Wayne National Bank in 1927, Valley has grown into one of the largest banks in New Jersey by both assets and deposit share.