First Trust Advisors LP Grows Position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) by 28.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,917,826 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 425,325 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. were worth $110,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ZION. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 4th quarter valued at $8,591,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 266.4% in the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 404,520 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,681,000 after purchasing an additional 294,121 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,888,064 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $227,607,000 after purchasing an additional 48,346 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,762,000. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,353,000. Institutional investors own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZION has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore downgraded Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 4,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $263,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zions Bancorporation, N.A. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated upbeat views on Zions, with Wells Fargo, RBC, DA Davidson, and TD Cowen all cited as expecting meaningful upside in the stock, reinforcing a generally favorable broader sentiment. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird raised its price target on Zions to $75, signaling confidence in further upside from current levels. Robert W. Baird Increases Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) Price Target to $75.00
• Positive Sentiment: TipRanks highlighted Zions’ earnings call as showing resilient growth, which supports the bank’s fundamental story following its recent quarterly report. Zions Bancorporation Earnings Call Signals Resilient Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Zions remains a value-name candidate in Zacks’ long-term stock screen, which may help investor interest but is not a near-term catalyst. Why Zions (ZION) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore downgraded Zions from “outperform” to “in-line” and set a $68 target, slightly below the current share price, which appears to be the main reason for the stock’s weakness. Read More
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of the shares gapping down on the downgrade suggest traders are reacting quickly to the more cautious Evercore call. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ZION opened at $69.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a fifty-two week low of $46.19 and a fifty-two week high of $73.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.14. The company has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $859.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $853.73 million. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a net margin of 23.92% and a return on equity of 13.72%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.93%.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Saturday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $225.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Company Profile

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is a bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, offering a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Zions Bank, the company provides commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management solutions designed to serve the needs of small businesses, middle‐market firms and high‐net‐worth clients. Its service portfolio includes deposit accounts, cash‐management tools, lending products, mortgage origination, treasury services and investment advisory services.

The company’s commercial banking segment delivers custom credit and treasury management services, including working capital lines of credit, equipment financing and international trade finance.