Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Cuts Holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC reduced its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 33.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,338 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ZION. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 901 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the fourth quarter valued at about $115,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the third quarter valued at about $119,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 112.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,685 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:ZION opened at $48.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a one year low of $39.05 and a one year high of $63.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $820.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $787.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid 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 3.52%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s payout ratio is currently 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ZION. 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zions Bancorporation, National Association presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In other Zions Bancorporation, National Association news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,655,305.11. The trade was a 43.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association 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 approximately $2,554,136.37. This trade represents a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

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.