Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Price Target Increased to $9.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its price target increased by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.62% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.61.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.7 %

Valley National Bancorp stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.21. 1,546,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,883,180. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $6.47 and a 52 week high of $11.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 1.08.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $884.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.67 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $127,001.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 224,679 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,521.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $127,001.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 224,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,734,521.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total transaction of $65,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,582,285.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452 in the last 90 days. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 64,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 28,321 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 30,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 3,801 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $276,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 986.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 19,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 17,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,569 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.