Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Upgraded by Piper Sandler to “Strong-Buy” Rating

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

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on VLY. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. National Bank Financial set a $16.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.77.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $13.59 on Monday. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $8.04 and a 52 week high of $13.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.03. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.90.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 43,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 13,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 107,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.