State Street and Valley National Under StockCall's Microscope: Regional Banks Pay Good Dividend

LONDON, February 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Banking sector is on the path of revival and state banks are performing better than larger counterparts. Regional banks like State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) reported good quarterly metrics and increased their dividend payments. The stock itself also showed healthy returns. Other banks like Valley National Bancorp (NYSE: VLY) are taking aggressive approach to increase their profitability. Valley National Bancorp also announced cash dividend. StockCall has released full comprehensive research on State Street and Valley National and these free technical analyses can be downloaded by signing up at http://www.stockcall.com/technicalanalysis

Valley National Bancorp Reduces Non-Performing Assets

Valley National Bancorp announced 16.25 cents per share in cash dividend. The company's dividend yield stands at 6.49 percent, making it an ideal stock for income investors. However, the stock price failed to keep up the pace and lost 16 percent value in the past 52 weeks. Valley National is on the path of recovery though, as the stock is up 8 percent on aYear-to-Date basis. Register today and access the free research on Valley National Bancorp at

http://www.StockCall.com/VLY022213.pdf  

Valley National also reported its fourth quarter financial numbers. Its net income stood at 19 cents per share, meeting consensus estimates. The company's net interest income remained flat, but it managed to improve its net interest margin by 33 basis points on a Year-over-Year basis. The bank also reported strong uptrend in new loan originations, especially in the residential mortgage originations. The company has also kept non-performing asset ratio low, increasing efficiency. Currently, the bank's non-performing assets make up slightly more than 1 percent of its total assets.

Valley National's stock trades at Price/Earnings ratio of 13.73, which is in-line with its industry peers. The bank's business model may be slightly risky with its originate and sell stress. However, in the medium-term, the stock may provide good returns to its investors.

State Street Corp. Announces Dividend

State Street lost favor with Nelson Peltz as his investment firm Trian Partners a major portion of its holding in the company. The hedge fund reduced its stake from about 9 million shares to 3.2 million. Hedge fund selling is generally a negative sign for a stock. At the very same time, Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global still holds 6.2 million shares of the banking company. Free technical analysis on State Street Corp. available by signing up at http://www.StockCall.com/STT022213.pdf  

State Street Corporation is one of the most prominent trust banks in the market. The banking company has exposure in both the domestic and overseas markets as it runs two branches in the country and a few abroad. The company is growing organically as well as through mergers. Late last year, it acquired the hedge fund business from Goldman Sachs.

The trust bank recently announced 26 cents per share in quarterly dividend, up 8.3 percent from its earlier payout of 24 cents per share. Its dividend yield stands at 1.71 percent. The stock is up 39 percent in the past 52 weeks, while it gained 20 percent so far this year. State Street also reported good quarterly results with 23 percent growth in its earnings. On the downside, the stock saw some insider selling as its Global Head and executive vice president sold a part of his holding. The company's chief Human Resource and Citizenship Officer Alison Quirk also sold 2,907 shares.

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