Reviewing Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) & Five Star Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBC)

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

Dividends

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Five Star Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays out 22.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Five Star Bancorp pays out 31.7% 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 increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	23.92%	13.72%	1.11%
Five Star Bancorp	25.92%	16.17%	1.50%

Risk and Volatility

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Five Star Bancorp has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Five Star Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	2	12	6	0	2.20
Five Star Bancorp	0	2	4	0	2.67

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. currently has a consensus target price of $71.29, suggesting a potential upside of 3.09%. Five Star Bancorp has a consensus target price of $42.30, suggesting a potential downside of 10.67%. Given Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is more favorable than Five Star Bancorp.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Five Star Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	$4.94 billion	2.06	$899.00 million	$7.85	8.81
Five Star Bancorp	$255.47 million	3.96	$61.61 million	$3.15	15.03

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

76.8% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.9% of Five Star Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 21.8% of Five Star Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. beats Five Star Bancorp on 10 of the 17 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 Five Star Bancorp

Five Star Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Five Star Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals in Northern California. It accepts various deposits, such as money market accounts, noninterest-bearing and interest checking accounts, savings accounts, term certificate accounts, and time deposits. The company also offers loan products, including commercial and residential real estate loans; commercial loans; commercial land loans; farmland loans; commercial and residential construction loans; and consumer and other loans, as well as operating lines of credit. In addition, it provides debit cards; and remote deposit capture, online and mobile banking, and direct deposit services. Five Star Bancorp was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California.