Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Purchases 22,317 Shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers raised its stake in Zions Bancorporation by 26%, buying 22,317 shares to hold 108,165 shares (about $6.33M), while institutional investors now own roughly 76.8% of the stock.
• Zions' Board authorized a $225 million share buyback (about 2.4% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 (annualized $1.80, ~2.9% yield), with an ex-dividend date of May 14 and payment on May 21.
• The bank beat Q1 EPS estimates ($1.56 vs. $1.43) on $859M in revenue, CEO Harris H. Simmons bought 4,500 shares, and analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $65.53.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,165 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 22,317 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. worth $6,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ZION. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Curat Global LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

In related news, CEO Harris H. Simmons acquired 4,500 shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.03 per share, for a total transaction of $265,635.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,317,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,771,611.79. This trade represents a 0.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.96, for a total value of $34,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $410,939.92. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 2,829 shares of company stock valued at $176,885 over the last 90 days. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ:ZION opened at $62.73 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.83. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a one year low of $45.52 and a one year high of $66.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $58.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.77.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $859.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.4 EPS for the current year.

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

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.'s dividend payout ratio is 27.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ZION. Evercore boosted their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.53.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. 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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