Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 373,935 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,500 shares during the quarter. Valley National Bancorp comprises 2.8% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. owned 0.07% of Valley National Bancorp worth $3,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total transaction of $510,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. The trade was a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VLY shares. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised Valley National Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.50 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 0.6 %

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

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Valley National Bancorp 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.