Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Shares Bought by Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 373,935 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,500 shares during the period. Valley National Bancorp comprises approximately 2.8% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $3,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total value of $510,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at $5,056,492.29. This represents a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.50 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.78.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 0.6 %

VLY stock opened at $8.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.44 and a 200-day moving average of $9.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $6.47 and a one year high of $11.10.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 5.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 63.77%.

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.