Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Stock Position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its Zions Bancorporation stake by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.9 million shares valued at about $111 million.
• Zions reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.56 versus the $1.43 estimate, and revenue of $859 million, slightly above forecasts.
• The bank also boosted shareholder returns through a $0.45 quarterly dividend and a new $225 million share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $66.35 target price.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,896,825 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 79,243 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 1.28% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. worth $111,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ZION. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.84% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZION has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Brean Capital initiated coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 4,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $263,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZION opened at $66.27 on Tuesday. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a fifty-two week low of $46.19 and a fifty-two week high of $67.99. The company has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.80.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $859.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $853.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.'s payout ratio is presently 27.99%.

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

About Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

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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