Valley National Bancorp (VLY) Stock Price & How to Invest

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.

The investment picture in mid 2026 is one of gradual improvement off a difficult stretch for regional banks. Net interest margin has widened to about 3.17 percent as deposit costs stabilized, Q1 2026 net income rose to roughly $164 million (about $0.28 per share) from $106 million a year earlier, and the efficiency ratio improved into the low 50s. Management has been actively reducing CRE concentration, including a roughly $1 billion loan sale to Brookfield, while investing in technology. The stock carries a low valuation (trailing price to earnings around 12 and forward around 10) that reflects lingering market skepticism about CRE credit and the durability of margin gains.

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. The bank is also sensitive to interest rates and deposit competition, which can compress margin quickly. Credit provisioning has stayed elevated, and its geographic focus on New York and New Jersey ties results to those regional economies. A broader repeat of the 2023 regional-bank deposit stress would pressure the stock, and the dividend, while attractive, depends on continued earnings stability.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Valley National Bancorp's investor relations page or your broker.

• Market cap: ~$8 billion
• Revenue (Q1 2026): ~$540 million
• Net income (Q1 2026): ~$164 million
• Diluted EPS (Q1 2026): ~$0.28
• Net interest margin: ~3.17%
• Trailing P/E: ~12x

VLY trades at a low double-digit trailing price to earnings (around 12) and a forward multiple near 10, a discount that reflects market caution on its commercial real estate book. Total assets were about $64.1 billion with roughly $50.8 billion in loans and $52.9 billion in deposits as of Q1 2026. The bank pays a dividend that has historically produced a mid-single-digit yield.

There are three common ways to get VLY exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so VLY sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where VLY fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

VLY is a cheaply valued CRE-heavy regional bank where the investment case rests on margin recovery and lower commercial real estate concentration outweighing credit and rate risk.

Whether VLY is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is VLY a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the VLY stock forecast.

For income investors, whether VLY pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does VLY pay a dividend?