Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) Shares Sold by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 74.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 299,413 shares of the bank's stock after selling 862,688 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $7,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 122.9% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,150 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2,354.9% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,252 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on RF shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen began coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Regions Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Regions Financial stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $22.54. 5,162,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,113,422. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $20.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.97. Regions Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $17.72 and a 12-month high of $27.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.69 and a 200 day moving average of $23.21.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Regions Financial's payout ratio is currently 48.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joia M. Johnson acquired 2,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.18 per share, with a total value of $48,714.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $370,353.48. The trade was a 15.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Company 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.