Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s (ZION) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $64.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ZION. Barclays raised their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Compass Point lifted their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.71.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Performance

Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock opened at $51.28 on Wednesday. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 12-month low of $39.05 and a 12-month high of $63.22. The company has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $55.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.55.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $820.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $787.70 million. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 15.70%. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s payout ratio is 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total value of $557,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,554,136.37. The trade was a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total value of $1,280,344.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,655,305.11. The trade was a 43.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686 in the last three months. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ZION. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,158 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $810,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 4.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 10.1% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,909 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 82.5% during the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 69,179 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after buying an additional 31,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avid Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the third quarter valued at $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

About Zions Bancorporation, National Association

Zions Bancorporation, National Association provides various banking products and related services primarily in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. It operates through Zions Bank, California Bank & Trust, Amegy Bank, National Bank of Arizona, Nevada State Bank, Vectra Bank Colorado, and The Commerce Bank of Washington segments.