Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Short Interest Update

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,800,000 shares, a decline of 17.2% from the March 15th total of 5,800,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other Zions Bancorporation, National Association news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total value of $557,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,554,136.37. This represents a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,655,305.11. This trade represents a 43.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,029 shares of company stock worth $1,855,321. 2.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zions Bancorporation, National Association

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZION. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the fourth quarter worth about $73,542,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 249.6% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,624,521 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159,888 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,116,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,961,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 5,690.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 550,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,468,000 after buying an additional 541,389 shares during the last quarter. 76.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ZION. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.81.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:ZION opened at $44.28 on Monday. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 12 month low of $39.32 and a 12 month high of $63.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.46. The stock has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.92.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $787.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management 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.