Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Raises Stock Position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 108,165 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,317 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. were worth $6,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Curat Global LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

In other news, CEO Harris H. Simmons purchased 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.03 per share, with a total value of $265,635.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,317,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,771,611.79. This trade represents a 0.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 2,089 shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.48, for a total transaction of $130,520.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,357.84. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,829 shares of company stock valued at $176,885. 1.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZION has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.53.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Price Performance

ZION stock opened at $62.73 on Friday. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a 12 month low of $45.52 and a 12 month high of $66.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.83.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $859.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $853.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Saturday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $225.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

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.