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

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 27,408 put options on the company. This is an increase of 183% compared to the average daily volume of 9,683 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total transaction of $406,668.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,460,136.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLY. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,614,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 363.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 192,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after acquiring an additional 151,355 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $93,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 94,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 15,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 36,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of VLY stock opened at $7.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.81. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.39 and a 52-week high of $11.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.09.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $890.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 51.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.33.

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.