Valley National Bancorp Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:VLY)

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 11,161 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 406% compared to the typical volume of 2,204 call options.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VLY traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.17. 3,532,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,236,984. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 1.12. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $6.47 and a 52 week high of $11.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.87% and a net margin of 9.42%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.64 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.39.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VLY. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 48.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 416.8% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 5,001 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 46.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Company 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.