Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,259 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 11,983 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $4,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 379,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,923,000 after buying an additional 62,396 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 677.9% in the fourth quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 223,107 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,247,000 after purchasing an additional 194,428 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 254,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,019,000 after purchasing an additional 70,100 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 65,469 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 5,932 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,857 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on RF shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joia M. Johnson bought 2,300 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.18 per share, with a total value of $48,714.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at $370,353.48. The trade was a 15.15 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 3,993 shares of company stock valued at $89,682. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Regions Financial stock opened at $21.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.46 and its 200 day moving average is $23.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Regions Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $17.72 and a 52-week high of $27.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.55%.

Regions Financial Profile

Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services.