Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Stock Price

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $71.00 to $64.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.18.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ ZION opened at $48.63 on Thursday. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 1-year low of $39.05 and a 1-year high of $63.22. The company has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In other news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total transaction of $1,280,344.31. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,655,305.11. This represents a 43.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686. Insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zions Bancorporation, National Association

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZION. Fluent Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the fourth quarter worth about $277,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,603,000. Michels Family Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter worth approximately $651,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 502,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,244,000 after buying an additional 71,795 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.