Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) and Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) Financial Analysis

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) and Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Franklin Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	3	8	7	0	2.22
Franklin Financial Services	0	1	1	0	2.50

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. currently has a consensus target price of $73.44, suggesting a potential upside of 12.34%. Franklin Financial Services has a consensus target price of $68.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.37%. Given Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is more favorable than Franklin Financial Services.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Franklin Financial Services”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	$4.94 billion	1.93	$899.00 million	$8.15	8.02
Franklin Financial Services	$133.55 million	2.40	$21.23 million	$6.19	11.49

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has higher revenue and earnings than Franklin Financial Services. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Franklin Financial Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Franklin Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays out 23.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Franklin Financial Services pays out 22.0% 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, N.A. has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Franklin Financial Services has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Franklin Financial Services has a beta of -0.02, meaning that its share price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Franklin Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	24.81%	13.77%	1.14%
Franklin Financial Services	20.43%	15.52%	1.21%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

76.8% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.8% of Franklin Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Franklin Financial Services shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. beats Franklin Financial Services on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

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 Franklin Financial Services

Franklin Financial Services Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Farmers and Merchants Trust Company of Chambersburg that provides commercial, retail banking, and trust services to businesses, individuals, governmental entities, and non-profit organizations in Pennsylvania. It offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, money management, and time deposit accounts, as well as demand deposits. The company also provides commercial real estate, construction and land development, commercial and industrial, and residential mortgage loans, as well as installment and revolving loans; consumer loans comprising unsecured personal lines of credit and installment loans; and secured and unsecured commercial and industrial loans, including accounts receivable and inventory financing, and commercial equipment financing. In addition, it offers various investment and trust services comprising estate planning and administration, corporate and personal trust fund management, pension, and profit sharing and other employee benefit funds management services, and custodial services, as well as non-trust related investment services; sells mutual funds, annuities, and insurance products; and offers safe deposit, pension, and fiduciary services. Further, the company engages in non-bank investment activities, such as venture capital investments. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.