Insider Selling: Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Insider Sells 316 Shares of Stock

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) insider Robert Ryan Richards sold 316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total value of $15,635.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,915.92. This trade represents a 1.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Trading Down 13.1 %

NASDAQ ZION opened at $43.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.73. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a one year low of $39.05 and a one year high of $63.22. The company has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.08. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $820.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $787.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s payout ratio is currently 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zions Bancorporation, National Association

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,542,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 249.6% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,624,521 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159,888 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the fourth quarter worth $51,116,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,041,818 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 896,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter valued at $33,961,000. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZION has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.94.

About Zions Bancorporation, National Association

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.