Ground Swell Capital LLC Invests $312,000 in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION)

Key Points

• Ground Swell Capital LLC has invested $312,000 in Zions Bancorporation, N.A., acquiring 6,252 shares during the 1st quarter of the year.
• Zions Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with a current average target price of $60.78 per share.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.43 to $0.45 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 3.3%.

Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,252 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 116,191 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,303,000 after buying an additional 49,121 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 949,575 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,514,000 after buying an additional 85,009 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,739,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 63,586 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,450,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 128.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 853 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ZION. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $47.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stephens cut their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.78.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Stock Down 2.0%

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,075,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,686,414. The stock has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.39. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a 12 month low of $39.32 and a 12 month high of $63.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $838.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $810.24 million. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 16.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Zions Bancorporation, N.A.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.91%.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Company Profile

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.