Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $72.53 According to Brokerages

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.59.

Several research firms have commented on ZION. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Evercore cut Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Price Performance

NASDAQ:ZION opened at $63.19 on Friday. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a 12-month low of $46.19 and a 12-month high of $73.34. The firm has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $877.44 million. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a net margin of 23.92% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $75.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 0.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Scott Mclean sold 33,285 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.63, for a total transaction of $2,350,919.55. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 73,043 shares in the company, valued at $5,159,027.09. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Derek Steward sold 894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.65, for a total transaction of $62,267.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,449 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,322.85. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 88,787 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,858 in the last 90 days. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 2nd quarter worth $982,244,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the fourth quarter valued at $105,700,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the second quarter valued at about $87,961,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the second quarter valued at about $71,767,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the second quarter worth about $54,688,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

About Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is a financial services company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Through its affiliated banks, the company provides a broad range of banking and related financial services to individuals, small and midsize businesses, commercial clients, and public-sector organizations.

The company’s services include commercial and consumer lending, deposits, home loans, cash management, treasury services, wealth management, investment services, and capital markets activities.