Short Interest in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Grows By 27.1%

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,200,000 shares, an increase of 27.1% from the January 31st total of 4,090,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In related news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total value of $1,280,344.31. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,655,305.11. This represents a 43.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total value of $557,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. This trade represents a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zions Bancorporation, National Association

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 3rd quarter valued at about $583,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 3rd quarter valued at about $510,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,538,000. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 buying an additional 896,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 351,148 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after buying an additional 43,720 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZION has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zions Bancorporation, National Association presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.71.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Performance

Shares of ZION stock opened at $51.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.80 and a 200 day moving average of $53.55. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 1 year low of $38.74 and a 1 year high of $63.22.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s payout ratio is currently 34.75%.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Company Profile

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.