VLY vs WBS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: VLY is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. VLY and WBS share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined VLY and WBS exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Valley National Bancorp is the holding company for Valley National Bank, a regional lender headquartered in the New York metro area with operations concentrated in New Jersey, New York, Florida, Alabama and California. At December 31, 2025 it held roughly $64.1 billion in total assets, about $49.6 billion in net loans and $52.2 billion in deposits, and it makes money the traditional way, by taking deposits and lending against commercial real estate, commercial and industrial borrowers, and consumers, while collecting fee income on the side. Commercial real estate has long been its signature exposure, at about 58 percent of total loans, which is high versus most peers and is the single biggest factor investors watch.

Full VLY guide

Webster Financial Corporation (formerly NYSE: WBS) was a US regional bank holding company with more than $84 billion in total assets, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and operating primarily across the Northeast. It ran three business lines: Commercial Banking (lending, treasury, and deposit services for middle-market and commercial clients), Consumer Banking (checking, savings, mortgages, and consumer lending across its branch network), and Healthcare Financial Services, home to HSA Bank, one of the largest administrators of health savings accounts in the country. Like most banks, Webster earned money mainly from net interest income (the spread between what it earns on loans and securities and what it pays on deposits), which it guided to roughly $2.47 to $2.50 billion for 2025, supplemented by fee income from deposit services, wealth management, and its HSA business.

Full WBS guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• VLY drivers: Net interest margin recovery; Deposit growth, funding mix and the Bluevine deal.
• WBS drivers: The Banco Santander acquisition, now completed; Regulatory approvals were the gating factor.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Valley's commercial real estate concentration, near 58 percent of loans and among the highest of comparable regional banks, is the central risk: a downturn in office, multifamily or construction values could drive higher provisions and charge-offs. For WBS, the deal-completion risk that dominated Webster in 2026 is gone: the Banco Santander merger closed in August 2026 and WBS no longer trades.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick VLY if you believe its drivers more; WBS if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the VLY and WBS guides.

VLY. VLY trades at about 10.8 times trailing and 8.3 times forward earnings and slightly below book value, a discount that reflects market caution on its commercial real estate book and, more recently, on the cost and execution of the Bluevine and Providence deals. Consensus expects EPS of about $1.28 in 2026 and $1.54 in 2027, and 14 analysts rate the stock a buy on average with a mean target near $16.50. The dividend yield has eased to about 3.5% as the share price rose over the past year.

WBS. WBS has stopped trading, so these are final figures rather than a live valuation. In its last months the price was set by the Santander terms rather than by bank multiples: the deal was struck at roughly 2.0x fourth-quarter 2025 tangible book value, and the final close near 12.6x trailing earnings reflected the value of the cash plus Santander stock package. Figures are approximate.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): VLY shows market cap ~$7.1 billion at ~$12.75, revenue (ttm) ~$2.0 billion; Q2 2026 ~$561 million (+15% YoY), net income (ttm) ~$664 million; Q2 2026 ~$164 million, diluted eps (q2 2026) $0.30 vs $0.31 consensus; Q3 consensus ~$0.33; WBS shows deal outcome Acquired by Banco Santander; completion and delisting reported in a Form 8-K on Aug 20, 2026, per-share consideration $48.75 cash plus 2.0548 Santander ADS (~$75.59 at the Feb 2026 announcement), final close and market cap $77.57 on Aug 19, 2026; ~$12.6 billion, revenue (ttm to jun 2026) ~$2.8 billion; Q2 2026 revenue ~$740 million.

VLY and WBS are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined VLY and WBS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.