Short Interest in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) Increases By 879.6%

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation, N.A. experienced a significant 879.6% rise in short interest, with a total of 5,860,000 shares short sold as of July 15th, indicating growing bearish sentiment among investors.
• Major hedge funds have increased their positions in Zions Bancorporation, with 76.84% of the stock owned by institutional investors, reflecting institutional confidence in the bank's performance.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $1.58 EPS, surpassing estimates, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.43 to $0.45, signaling a positive outlook.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,860,000 shares, anincreaseof879.6% from the June 30th total of 598,200 shares. Approximately4.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately4.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 326.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,866,759 shares of the bank's stock worth $139,927,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,514 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 249.6% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,624,521 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,130,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159,888 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,116,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,133,336 shares of the bank's stock worth $106,368,000 after acquiring an additional 778,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 168.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,209,455 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,819,000 after acquiring an additional 758,855 shares in the last quarter. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Stock Performance

ZION stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.43. 387,245 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,609,308. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a twelve month low of $39.32 and a twelve month high of $63.22. The company has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.69. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $838.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Zions Bancorporation, N.A.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.78.

About Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

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.