Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $63.00 to $53.00. The stock had previously closed at $43.62, but opened at $39.90. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Zions Bancorporation, National Association shares last traded at $42.87, with a volume of 552,675 shares changing hands.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ZION. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zions Bancorporation, National Association news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total transaction of $1,280,344.31. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,655,305.11. This trade represents a 43.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total transaction of $557,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,554,136.37. The trade was a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,029 shares of company stock worth $1,855,321 in the last ninety days. 2.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zions Bancorporation, National Association

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 2.5% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 148,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,383,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,261,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 768,556 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,320,000 after acquiring an additional 85,832 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 4.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 69,770 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.9% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 65,741 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,278,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.84% of the company's stock.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Down 0.9 %

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $48.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 15.70%. The firm had revenue of $795.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. Zions Bancorporation, National Association's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.59%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association 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.