Maltese Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Key Points

• Maltese Capital Management cut its Zions Bancorporation stake by 34.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 55,000 shares and leaving it with 105,000 shares valued at about $6.15 million.
• Zions reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings of $1.56 per share, topping analyst estimates, and also announced a $225 million share repurchase program plus a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share.
• Analysts currently rate the stock a “Hold” overall, with an average price target of $66.35, while shares recently traded near $66.27, close to their 52-week high.

Maltese Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) by 34.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 55,000 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC owned 0.07% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. worth $6,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 1,555 shares of the bank's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Alta Capital Management LLC raised its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 27,838 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,630,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 7,886 shares of the bank's stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 21,548 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zions Bancorporation, N.A. news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 4,209 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.35.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ZION opened at $66.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.81. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a 52 week low of $46.19 and a 52 week high of $67.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty 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 released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 19.53%.The firm had revenue of $859.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Saturday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $225.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Announces Dividend

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ZION? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.