Keynote Financial Services LLC Acquires New Position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 30,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 62,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 535,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.4% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 104,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.4% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 122,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ:VLY traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.75. 10,900,597 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,287,807. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $6.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 1.08.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.07). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 6.53%. The company had revenue of $884.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total value of $65,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at $3,582,285.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total transaction of $65,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at $3,582,285.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 224,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,734,521.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 51,451 shares of company stock worth $378,452. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.61.

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.