Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes $51.29 Million Position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 741,232 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $51,286,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 76.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 137,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,853,000 after acquiring an additional 59,483 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 504,860 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 91.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,502 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 10,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 52.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,816 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Price Performance

NASDAQ ZION opened at $68.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a twelve month low of $46.19 and a twelve month high of $73.34.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.17. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 23.92%.The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $877.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Saturday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $225.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s payout ratio is presently 24.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Scott J. Mclean sold 33,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.63, for a total value of $2,350,919.55. Following the sale, the president directly owned 73,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,159,027.09. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Law sold 4,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.42, for a total transaction of $333,711.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,893.80. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 88,787 shares of company stock worth $6,283,858. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Evercore downgraded Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.29.

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.