Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Stock Price

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) had its price target cut by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $71.00 to $64.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 31.61% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.18.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Up 3.5 %

ZION opened at $48.63 on Thursday. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a fifty-two week low of $39.05 and a fifty-two week high of $63.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.52. The company has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.08. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $820.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $787.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total value 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 represents a 43.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total value of $557,100.00. Following the completion of 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 trade 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 sold 32,713 shares of company stock valued at $1,839,686. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zions Bancorporation, National Association

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the 3rd quarter valued at about $583,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $510,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter worth approximately $389,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,538,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,041,818 shares of the bank’s stock worth $332,515,000 after buying an additional 896,889 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.