Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) will release earnings for its first quarter after the closing bell on Monday, April 20.

Analysts expect the Salt Lake City, Utah-based company to report quarterly earnings of $1.43 per share, up from $1.13 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Zions Bancorp’s quarterly revenue is $855.145 million. It reported $806 million last year, according to Benzinga Pro.

Some Zions investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends. Currently, the bank has an annual dividend yield of 2.92%. That’s a quarterly dividend amount of 45 cents per share ($1.80 a year).  

So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 monthly?

To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $205,113 or around 3,333 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $41,047 or around 667 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($5.69 in this case). So, $6,000 / $1.80 = 3,333 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $1.80 = 667 shares ($100 per month).

Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, as the dividend payment and the stock price both fluctuate over time.

How that works: The dividend yield is computed by dividing the annual dividend payment by the stock’s current price.

For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and is currently priced at $50, the dividend yield would be 4% ($2/$50). However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield drops to 3.33% ($2/$60). Conversely, if the stock price falls to $40, the dividend yield rises to 5% ($2/$40).

Similarly, changes in the dividend payment can impact the yield. If a company increases its dividend, the yield will also increase, provided the stock price stays the same. Conversely, if the dividend payment decreases, so will the yield.

ZION Price Action: Shares of Zions Bancorp fell 0.5% to close at $61.54 on Thursday.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, Evercore ISI Group analyst John Pancari, on April 6, maintained Zions Bancorp with an In-Line rating and lowered the price target from $68 to $63.

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