Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $63.00 to $53.00. The stock had previously closed at $43.62, but opened at $39.90. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Zions Bancorporation, National Association shares last traded at $42.87, with a volume of 552,675 shares trading hands.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $58.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the business’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total value of $557,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,554,136.37. This trade represents a 17.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,029 shares of company stock worth $1,855,321 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,037,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,032,775,000 after buying an additional 285,588 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,807,221 shares of the bank’s stock worth $369,295,000 after acquiring an additional 175,656 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,882,983 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $264,902,000 after acquiring an additional 194,995 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,698,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,396,000 after acquiring an additional 14,070 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,267,568 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,016,000 after purchasing an additional 390,601 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Down 1.1 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.92.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $795.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $792.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.