Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) will release its first-quarter earnings results before the opening bell on Monday, April 21.

Analysts expect the Salt Lake City, Utah-based company to report quarterly earnings at $1.18 per share, up from 96 cents per share in the year-ago period. Zions Bancorporation projects to report quarterly revenue at $794.82 million, compared to $752 million a year earlier, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

On March 28, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo maintained Zions Bancorp with an Equal-Weight rating and lowered the price target from $62 to $58.

With the recent buzz around Zions Bancorporation, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends too. Currently, Zions Bancorporation offers an annual dividend yield of 3.97%. That’s a quarterly dividend amount of 43 cents per share ($1.72 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 $151,240 or around 3,488 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $30,265 or around 698 shares.

To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($1.72 in this case). So, $6,000 / $1.72 = 3,488 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $1.72 = 698 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 Bancorporation fell 1% to close at $43.36 on Wednesday.

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