Valley National upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded Valley National (VLY) to Overweight from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $11. The firm expects “greatly improved” profitability over the next 12 months with Valley expected to reach a 1% return on assets by year-end compared to the 74 basis points ROA posted in Q4. In reaching that threshold, the stock is “cheap,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. Further, Piper still feels good overall on the bank’s credit profile and expects its credit costs will fall significantly year-over-year, in-line with guidance.