Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 96.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,661 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,293 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Zions Bancorporation, National Association worth $6,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,037,323 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,032,775,000 after purchasing an additional 285,588 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,807,221 shares of the bank’s stock worth $369,295,000 after buying an additional 175,656 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,882,983 shares of the bank’s stock worth $264,902,000 after buying an additional 194,995 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,698,530 shares of the bank’s stock worth $146,396,000 after buying an additional 14,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,267,568 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,016,000 after buying an additional 390,601 shares during the last quarter. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ZION shares. Argus upgraded Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial started coverage on Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $63.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zions Bancorporation, National Association presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.47.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Price Performance

NASDAQ:ZION opened at $49.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.94. The stock has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.88. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 52 week low of $39.32 and a 52 week high of $63.22.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $795.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $792.49 million. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 15.70%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s payout ratio is 33.59%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total transaction of $1,280,344.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,655,305.11. This trade represents a 43.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

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.