Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 55,196 Shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its stake in Zions Bancorporation by 32.5% in the first quarter, buying 55,196 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 225,178 shares worth about $13.0 million.
• Zions reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.56 beating estimates and revenue of $859 million also topping expectations. The company said analysts now expect full-year EPS of 6.45.
• The bank announced a $225 million share buyback and continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.6%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) by 32.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,178 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 55,196 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.15% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. worth $12,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,420,688 shares of the bank's stock worth $434,407,000 after acquiring an additional 77,612 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,888,064 shares of the bank's stock valued at $227,607,000 after purchasing an additional 48,346 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,151,319 shares of the bank's stock valued at $184,478,000 after buying an additional 306,717 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,963,243 shares of the bank's stock worth $173,501,000 after buying an additional 30,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.84% of the company's stock.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Stock Performance

Shares of ZION stock opened at $69.14 on Friday. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a 12 month low of $46.19 and a 12 month high of $69.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.81. The business's 50-day moving average price is $63.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.60.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $859.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

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

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 4,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $263,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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 lifted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $79.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.35.

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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