Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Grows Stake 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% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,661 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 57,293 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association were worth $6,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,771,000. Fiduciary Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 343.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 275,575 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,950,000 after buying an additional 213,405 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 46,657 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,531,000 after buying an additional 24,958 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 148,453 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,054,000 after buying an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZION has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $63.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $58.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zions Bancorporation, National Association presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.47.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ZION opened at $49.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.42 and a 200 day moving average of $52.94.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $795.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.49 million. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 13.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,655,305.11. This represents a 43.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

About Zions Bancorporation, National Association

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.