Townsquare Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,988 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association were worth $1,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,037,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,032,775,000 after purchasing an additional 285,588 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,882,983 shares of the bank’s stock worth $264,902,000 after purchasing an additional 194,995 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,698,530 shares of the bank’s stock worth $146,396,000 after buying an additional 14,070 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,637,917 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,592,000 after buying an additional 30,030 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,542,000. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $2,554,136.37. This trade represents a 17.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,029 shares of company stock valued at $1,855,321 over the last quarter. 2.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Price Performance

Shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock opened at $43.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. 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 $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.39.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s payout ratio is 34.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ZION. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 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. lowered their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.81.

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.