Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 11,568,220 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 97% from the previous session’s volume of 5,883,049 shares.The stock last traded at $9.97 and had previously closed at $10.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on VLY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.75.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.18. The firm had revenue of $921.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $467.87 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 9.42% and a return on equity of 5.87%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.97%.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 193.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,173,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,233,000 after purchasing an additional 6,703,552 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1,501.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,676,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,431,000 after buying an additional 5,322,278 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 995.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,775,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,374,000 after buying an additional 2,522,204 shares in the last quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $6,618,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 378.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 612,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 484,332 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.