Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 33,430,000 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the March 15th total of 27,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 9,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 6.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In related 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 value of $510,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 495,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $154,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 170.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 67,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 42,731 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,494,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,539,000 after purchasing an additional 439,831 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 5,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

VLY stock opened at $8.25 on Monday. Valley National Bancorp has a 1-year low of $6.47 and a 1-year high of $11.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.45. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.06.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 EPS 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 last year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.33%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $12.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.67.

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.