Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 687,813 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 416.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 852,884 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 687,813 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.17% of Valley National Bancorp worth $7,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLY. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,703,552 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 5,322,278 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 995.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,775,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522,204 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 461.7% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 567,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,960,000 after purchasing an additional 466,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 843,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,887,000 after buying an additional 428,851 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $10.64 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.34. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $6.47 and a 12-month high of $11.22. The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 1.07.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18. The company had revenue of $921.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 70.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VLY shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $10.50 to $11.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.88.

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.