Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Upgraded to Buy at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Argus currently has $55.00 price objective on the bank's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ZION. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $58.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.76.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Trading Up 2.8 %

ZION traded up $1.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $46.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,869,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,575,961. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 52 week low of $39.32 and a 52 week high of $63.22. The stock has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.13.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $795.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.49 million. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 13.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.59%.

Insider Activity at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,655,305.11. This represents a 43.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total value of $557,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. This represents a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,029 shares of company stock valued at $1,855,321. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZION. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter worth $73,542,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 249.6% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,624,521 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,130,000 after buying an additional 1,159,888 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,116,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,961,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 5,690.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 550,903 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,468,000 after purchasing an additional 541,389 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.