Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Trading Down 4.4% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) traded down 4.4% during mid-day trading on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $7.42 and last traded at $7.43. 1,559,110 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 6,188,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.77.

The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $890.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on VLY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut Valley National Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In related 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 value of $406,668.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 545,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,460,136.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.1% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 534,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,686 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 122,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after buying an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 36,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.81 and its 200 day moving average is $8.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.09.

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.