Analyzing Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) & Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI)

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) and Glacier Bancorp (NYSE:GBCI) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

76.8% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.2% of Glacier Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Glacier Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Glacier Bancorp”s 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	1.88	$899.00 million	$6.43	9.84
Glacier Bancorp	$1.09 billion	5.83	$239.03 million	$2.14	22.93

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has higher revenue and earnings than Glacier Bancorp. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Glacier 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%. Glacier Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays out 28.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Glacier Bancorp pays out 61.7% 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 raised 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.

Risk and Volatility

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Glacier Bancorp has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Glacier Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	1	13	5	1	2.30
Glacier Bancorp	1	3	4	0	2.38

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. presently has a consensus target price of $65.53, indicating a potential upside of 3.59%. Glacier Bancorp has a consensus target price of $55.17, indicating a potential upside of 12.42%. Given Glacier Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Glacier Bancorp is more favorable than Zions Bancorporation, N.A..

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	19.53%	13.90%	1.09%
Glacier Bancorp	17.60%	7.19%	0.92%

Summary

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. beats Glacier Bancorp on 13 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 Glacier Bancorp

Glacier Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Glacier Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals, small to medium-sized businesses, community organizations, and public entities in the United States. It offers non-interest bearing deposit and interest bearing deposit accounts, such as negotiable order of withdrawal and demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, fixed rate certificates of deposit, negotiated-rate jumbo certificates, and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides construction and permanent loans on residential real estate; consumer land or lot acquisition loans; unimproved land and land development loans; and residential builder guidance lines comprising pre-sold and spec-home construction, and lot acquisition loans. In addition, it offers commercial real estate loans to purchase, construct, and finance commercial real estate properties; consumer loans secured by real estate, automobiles, or other assets; paycheck protection program loans; home equity loans consisting of junior lien mortgages, and first and junior lien lines of credit secured by owner-occupied 1-4 family residences; and agriculture loans. Further, the company provides mortgage origination and loan servicing services. It has 224 locations, including 188 branches and 36 loan or administration offices in 75 counties within 8 states comprising Montana, Idaho, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Kalispell, Montana.