Reviewing Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) and East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) and East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, East West Bancorp has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and East West Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	$4.94 billion	1.91	$899.00 million	$6.00	10.64
East West Bancorp	$4.67 billion	3.46	$1.33 billion	$9.52	12.36

East West Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Zions Bancorporation, N.A.. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than East West Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. East West Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays out 30.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. East West Bancorp pays out 33.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and East West Bancorp has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and East West Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	1	14	5	1	2.29
East West Bancorp	1	5	10	0	2.56

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. currently has a consensus price target of $63.16, indicating a potential downside of 1.02%. East West Bancorp has a consensus price target of $128.14, indicating a potential upside of 8.91%. Given East West Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe East West Bancorp is more favorable than Zions Bancorporation, N.A..

Institutional & Insider Ownership

76.8% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.5% of East West Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of East West Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and East West Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	18.19%	13.70%	1.03%
East West Bancorp	28.36%	15.72%	1.68%

Summary

East West Bancorp beats Zions Bancorporation, N.A. on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

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. The company offers commercial and small business banking services to small- and medium-sized businesses, such as commercial, industrial, and owner-occupied lending and leasing; municipal and public finance services; depository account and cash management services; commercial and small business cards; merchant processing services; corporate trust services; and correspondent banking and international lending services. It also provides capital markets and investment banking services, including loan syndications, foreign exchange services, interest rate derivatives, fixed income securities underwriting, advisory and capital raising, commercial mortgage-backed security conduit lending, and power and project financing; and commercial real estate lending services consisting of term and construction/land development financing for commercial and residential purposes. In addition, the company offers retail banking services comprising residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, personal lines of credit, installment consumer loans, depository account services, consumer cards, and personal trust services; and wealth management services consisting of investment management, fiduciary and estate, and advanced business succession and estate planning services. The company was formerly known as ZB, National Association and changed its name to Zions Bancorporation, National Association in September 2018. Zions Bancorporation, National Association was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other. It accepts various deposit products, such as personal and business checking and savings accounts, money market, and time deposits. The company’s loan products include mortgage and home equity, commercial and residential real estate, working capital lines of credit, construction finance, trade finance, letters of credit, commercial business, affordable housing loans, asset-based lending, asset-backed finance, project finance, loan syndication, and equipment financing, as well as financing services for clients to facilitate their business transactions between the United States and Asia. It also provides various wealth management, treasury management, foreign exchange, and interest rate and commodity risk hedging services; and mobile and online banking services. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California.