Balefire LLC Invests $231,000 in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Balefire LLC acquired 9,838 shares of Regions Financial Corporation for approximately $231,000 during the second quarter, reflecting a growing interest in the bank.
• Regions Financial recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.265, aligning with a 3.9% yield, indicating financial strength and commitment to return value to shareholders.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Regions Financial, with twelve recommending a Buy rating and an average price target set at $27.47.

Balefire LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,838 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RF. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Regions Financial by 637.3% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,224 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 76.6% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,876 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the first quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial during the first quarter valued at $58,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:RF traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.57. The stock had a trading volume of 18,541,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,628,070. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.02. Regions Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.74 and a 1-year high of $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $26.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.17.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roger W. Jenkins purchased 4,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $101,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,638.84. This trade represents a 167.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total transaction of $750,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 90,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,273,784.15. The trade was a 24.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on RF shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.47.

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.