ZION - Zions Bancorporation cut to Underperform at Baird on weak setup for valuations

Baird analyst David George downgrades Zions Bancorporation (ZION) to Underperform as he believes the stock has "a generally weak setup as forward P/PPNR (price/pre-provision net revenue) valuations are elevated despite being based on overly optimistic earnings expectations."Says consensus net interest income estimates don't seem to take into account the eventual roll-off of Paycheck Protection Program income and the possibility that excess liquidity will weigh on loan growth."A ~45% premium to historical PPNR multiples seems steep given the tough fundamentals ahead," George writes in a note to clients.His Underperform rating clashes with the Very Bullish Quant rating and diverges from the average Wall Street rating of Neutral (6 Very Bullish, 1 Bullish, 15 Neutral, 1 Very Bearish).SA contributor Labutes IR, though, sees an upside from higher interest rates for Zions.

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Zions Bancorporation cut to Underperform at Baird on weak setup for valuations