Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) to Repurchase $40.00 million in Stock

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ZION shares. Compass Point increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zions Bancorporation, National Association presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.71.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ZION opened at $53.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.30. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 1-year low of $38.01 and a 1-year high of $63.22. The stock has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.08. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 15.70%. The business had revenue of $820.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $787.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,655,305.11. This trade represents a 43.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total value of $557,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. This represents a 17.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686. Corporate 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.