JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Price Target to $8.00

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $8.50 to $8.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a market perform rating and set a $8.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $8.67.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 4.6 %

NASDAQ VLY opened at $6.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.36. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $6.47 and a one year high of $11.22.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $890.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.38 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.30%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 51.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $127,001.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 224,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,734,521.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $127,001.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 224,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,734,521.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.43, for a total transaction of $185,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452 over the last 90 days. 1.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $239,000. IMS Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $244,000. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $229,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 6.2% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 295,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,356,000 after buying an additional 17,282 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $247,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.