Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Purchases Shares of 414,598 Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Zions Bancorporation, buying 414,598 shares worth about $24.3 million.
• Zions reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.56 beating estimates and revenue of $859 million slightly topping forecasts.
• The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share and approved a $225 million share buyback, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 414,598 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $24,271,000. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension owned about 0.28% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,343,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $415,474,000 after acquiring an additional 30,552 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 31.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,963,545 shares of the bank's stock worth $167,677,000 after purchasing an additional 711,218 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 6.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,041,063 shares of the bank's stock valued at $115,483,000 after purchasing an additional 122,815 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 23.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,621,400 shares of the bank's stock valued at $91,739,000 after purchasing an additional 303,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,616,549 shares of the bank's stock worth $91,464,000 after purchasing an additional 68,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.84% of the company's stock.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Stock Performance

ZION stock opened at $60.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.83. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a 1 year low of $45.52 and a 1 year high of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $59.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.07.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $859.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.73 million. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 19.53%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.99%.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Saturday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $225.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 4,209 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $263,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Harris H. Simmons bought 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.03 per share, for a total transaction of $265,635.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,317,493 shares in the company, valued at $77,771,611.79. This trade represents a 0.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,038 shares of company stock worth $439,948. 1.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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