Head-To-Head Analysis: Malaga Financial (OTCMKTS:MLGF) & Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION)

Malaga Financial (OTCMKTS:MLGF) and Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Malaga Financial has a beta of 0.08, indicating that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Malaga Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Malaga Financial pays out 44.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays out 28.0% 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Malaga Financial and Zions Bancorporation, N.A., as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Malaga Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	1	12	6	1	2.35

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a consensus target price of $66.35, indicating a potential upside of 0.31%. Given Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is more favorable than Malaga Financial.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Malaga Financial and Zions Bancorporation, N.A.”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Malaga Financial	N/A	N/A	$21.55 million	$2.24	9.74
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	$3.44 billion	2.83	$899.00 million	$6.43	10.29

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Malaga Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	19.53%	13.90%	1.09%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.2% of Malaga Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.8% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. beats Malaga Financial on 16 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Malaga Financial

Malaga Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Malaga Bank that provides various community banking products and services to personal and business customers. It offers checking, savings, NOW, and money market accounts, certificates of deposits, business banking, consumer, and demand deposits. The company also provides commercial real estate, single and multi-family residential mortgage, consumer, 14-unit investment property, construction, personal, and business loans; home equity lines of credit; and certificates of deposit. In addition, it offers coupon redemption, direct deposit, overdraft lines of credit, telephone transfers, U.S. savings bond redemption, and wire transfer services; and ATM and VISA debit cards, bank by mail, medallion signature guarantee, night depository, notary, safe deposit boxes, and trust deed note collection services. Further, the company provides online banking services, including bill payer, e-statements, and mobile banking services. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

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.