Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) Sees Strong Short-Term Interest Growth

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) saw significant growth in short-term interest during the month of September. As of September 15, there was short interest totaling 6,790,000 shares, an increase of 20.8% over the August 31 total of 5,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,100,000 shares, the short-term interest rate is currently 3.2 days. Currently 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

A number of hedge funds have recently increased or reduced their holdings in VLY. The Ohio State Employee Retirement System increased its holdings of Valley National Bancorp shares by 6.3% in the first quarter. The Ohio Public Employee Retirement System now owns 11,780 shares of the company valued at $ 162,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 5.7% in the second quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 17,172 shares of the company valued at $ 231,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 8,432 shares of the company valued at $ 116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. The Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 20.9% in the second quarter. The Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,919 shares of the company valued at $ 93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Ltd strengthened its position in Valley National Bancorp shares by 21.4% during the second quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 13,711 shares of the company valued at $ 184,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares in the last quarter. 63.20% of the shares are held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VLY shares opened at $ 13.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99, and a debt ratio of 0.43. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $ 7.20 and a 12-month high of $ 14.74. The company has a market cap of $ 5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $ 12.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $ 13.45.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 21. The company reported earnings per share of $ 0.30 for the quarter, hitting the Zacks consensus estimate of $ 0.30. The company posted revenue of $ 344.03 million in the quarter, compared to $ 337.63 million expected by analysts. Valley National Bancorp reported a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 29.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue grew 5.1% year-over-year. In the same quarter of last year, the company achieved EPS of $ 0.23. As a group, analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post earnings per share of 1.18 for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 1. Shareholders of record on Wednesday September 15 received a dividend of $ 0.11. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 14. This represents a dividend of $ 0.44 on an annualized basis and a return of 3.23%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.83%.

A number of research companies have weighed in on VLY. Stephens raised his target price on Valley National Bancorp shares from $ 15.00 to $ 15.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report released Monday. Hovde Group upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “market performance” rating to an “outperformance” rating in a research report released on Friday, September 17th. Citigroup upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised its price target for the company from $ 12.00 to $ 14.00 in a research note on Friday, September 24. Ultimately, Zacks investment research reduced Valley National Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “conservation” rating in a research report released Friday, October 1. Four investment analysts gave the stock a conservation rating and three gave the company’s stock a buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $ 13.21.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp is a banking holding company providing retail and commercial banking services. It operates through the following segments: consumer credit; Business loans; Investment management; and Corporate and other adjustments. The consumer loans segment includes residential mortgages, auto loans and home equity loans, as well as wealth management and insurance services.

See also: Methods and types of trading strategies

This instant news alert was powered by storytelling technology and MarketBeat financial data to provide readers with the fastest, most accurate reports. This story was reviewed by the MarketBeat editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]

Should you invest $ 1,000 in Valley National Bancorp now?

Before you consider Valley National Bancorp, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat tracks Wall Street’s top-rated and top-performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat identified the five stocks that top analysts quietly whisper to their clients to buy now before the broader market takes hold of… and Valley National Bancorp was not on the list.

While Valley National Bancorp currently has a “Buy” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better bets.

See the 5 actions here