Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 88.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,948 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 108,087 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.16% of Zions Bancorporation, National Association worth $12,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 541 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,511 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,263 shares of the bank’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,027 shares of the bank’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Performance

ZION stock opened at $49.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.65. 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 has a 12-month low of $39.05 and a 12-month high of $63.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $820.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $787.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s payout ratio is 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zions Bancorporation, National Association presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.94.

Insider Activity at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In other Zions Bancorporation, National Association news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,655,305.11. This represents a 43.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 45,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. This represents a 17.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

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.