Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 138,800 Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 138,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,704,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,714,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $4,753,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $34,593,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $6,240,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $103,120,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valley National Bancorp news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,577.08. This trade represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at $868,821.18. This trade represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

VLY stock opened at $14.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.91. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $8.95 and a 52-week high of $14.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $531.89 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 18.61%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VLY. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $17.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.43.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, offering a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking products and services. Through its banking subsidiary, Valley National Bank, the company provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, mortgage services, treasury and cash management, foreign exchange and trade finance solutions. Complementary wealth management and insurance offerings round out its financial services platform, catering to individual, small-business and corporate clients.

Tracing its roots to the establishment of Wayne National Bank in 1927, Valley has grown into one of the largest banks in New Jersey by both assets and deposit share.