Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to "Underweight"

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Zions Bancorporation from “overweight” to “underweight,” while setting a $77 price target—about 11% above the stock’s reported current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with five “buy,” 12 “hold,” and three “sell” ratings; the consensus rating is “hold” with an average price target of $71.29.
• Zions exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.74 in EPS versus $1.57 expected and $1.14 billion in revenue, while its board authorized a $75 million share-repurchase program.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $77.00 price objective on the bank's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.00% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ZION. Truist Financial increased their target price on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.29.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Price Performance

ZION stock opened at $69.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.81 and a 200-day moving average of $64.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a one year low of $46.19 and a one year high of $73.34.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $877.44 million. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a net margin of 23.92% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 0.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Zions Bancorporation, N.A. news, EVP Derek Steward sold 894 shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.65, for a total transaction of $62,267.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,215,322.85. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Scott J. Mclean sold 33,285 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.63, for a total transaction of $2,350,919.55. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 73,043 shares in the company, valued at $5,159,027.09. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 88,787 shares of company stock worth $6,283,858 over the last 90 days. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,633 shares of the bank's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 275,354 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,052,000 after purchasing an additional 17,642 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 415.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 189,013 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,078,000 after purchasing an additional 152,328 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,933,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 6,628.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,912,304 shares of the bank's stock worth $824,212,000 after buying an additional 11,735,272 shares in the last quarter. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Company Profile

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.

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