Financial Analysis: Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) & Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) and Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, National Association and Sandy Spring Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zions Bancorporation, National Association	14.09%	13.89%	0.88%
Sandy Spring Bancorp	11.54%	5.71%	0.65%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Zions Bancorporation, National Association and Sandy Spring Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zions Bancorporation, National Association	1	16	1	0	2.00
Sandy Spring Bancorp	0	4	0	0	2.00

Zions Bancorporation, National Association currently has a consensus price target of $57.06, indicating a potential upside of 6.32%. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a consensus price target of $28.25, indicating a potential downside of 16.91%. Given Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Zions Bancorporation, National Association is more favorable than Sandy Spring Bancorp.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, National Association and Sandy Spring Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zions Bancorporation, National Association	$3.04 billion	2.61	$680.00 million	$4.39	12.23
Sandy Spring Bancorp	$394.67 million	3.89	$122.84 million	$1.90	17.89

Zions Bancorporation, National Association has higher revenue and earnings than Sandy Spring Bancorp. Zions Bancorporation, National Association is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sandy Spring Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.8% of Zions Bancorporation, National Association shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.9% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Zions Bancorporation, National Association shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sandy Spring Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Zions Bancorporation, National Association pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Sandy Spring Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association pays out 39.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sandy Spring Bancorp pays out 71.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Summary

Zions Bancorporation, National Association beats Sandy Spring Bancorp on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company offers commercial and small business banking services to small- and medium-sized businesses, such as commercial, industrial, and owner-occupied lending and leasing; municipal and public finance services; depository account and cash management services; commercial and small business cards; merchant processing services; corporate trust services; and correspondent banking and international lending services. It also provides capital markets and investment banking services, including loan syndications, foreign exchange services, interest rate derivatives, fixed income securities underwriting, advisory and capital raising, commercial mortgage-backed security conduit lending, and power and project financing; and commercial real estate lending services consisting of term and construction/land development financing for commercial and residential purposes. In addition, the company offers retail banking services comprising residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, personal lines of credit, installment consumer loans, depository account services, consumer cards, and personal trust services; and wealth management services consisting of investment management, fiduciary and estate, and advanced business succession and estate planning services. The company was formerly known as ZB, National Association and changed its name to Zions Bancorporation, National Association in September 2018. Zions Bancorporation, National Association was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Sandy Spring Bancorp

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Sandy Spring Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, mortgage, private banking, and trust services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It offers financial products and services, including various loan and deposit products. Its loan products include commercial real estate loans, construction loans, and business loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines, installment loans, and personal lines of credit. The company provides investment management, financial planning, and wealth management services. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Olney, Maryland.