Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $66.61 and last traded at $66.2160, with a volume of 287798 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.53.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Trading Up 1.9%

The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $859.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s payout ratio is 27.99%.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Saturday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $225.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 4,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $263,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZION. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the fourth quarter worth about $105,700,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1,270.5% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,146,992 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063,303 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $167,677,000 after purchasing an additional 711,218 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the second quarter worth about $32,008,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 117.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,113,079 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,160,000 after purchasing an additional 601,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

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.