Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 92,241 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,401 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. were worth $5,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ZION. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC lifted its stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Curat Global LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ZION. Brean Capital began coverage on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.53.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ZION opened at $62.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.77. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a twelve month low of $45.52 and a twelve month high of $66.18.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $859.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $853.73 million. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 13.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s payout ratio is 27.99%.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Saturday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $225.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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

In related news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 550 shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.96, for a total transaction of $34,628.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $410,939.92. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Harris H. Simmons purchased 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.03 per share, for a total transaction of $265,635.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,317,493 shares in the company, valued at $77,771,611.79. This trade represents a 0.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,829 shares of company stock worth $176,885 in the last ninety days. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Profile

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.