Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 88,520 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,125,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZION. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 2nd quarter valued at $982,244,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,477,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $430,813,000 after buying an additional 56,438 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,888,064 shares of the bank’s stock worth $227,607,000 after buying an additional 48,346 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,151,319 shares of the bank’s stock worth $184,478,000 after buying an additional 306,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 31.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,963,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $167,677,000 after acquiring an additional 711,218 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZION has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.29.

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

In related news, President Scott J. Mclean sold 33,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.63, for a total value of $2,350,919.55. Following the sale, the president directly owned 73,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,159,027.09. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Derek Steward sold 894 shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.65, for a total value of $62,267.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,215,322.85. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 88,787 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,858. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Stock Performance

Shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock opened at $68.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.71 and a 200-day moving average of $63.67. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a 1-year low of $46.19 and a 1-year high of $73.34.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.17. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a net margin of 23.92% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $877.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.46%.

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

About Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

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.