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

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $8.50 to $8.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $8.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Two 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, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $8.67.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VLY opened at $6.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.47 and a 52-week 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 7.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $74,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.43, for a total value of $185,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,300. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 224,679 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,521.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $98,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by 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.