Amundi Sells 344,083 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Regions Financial stake by 7.2%, selling 344,083 shares and retaining 4.44 million shares valued at approximately $116 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.39% of the bank.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with six Buy, ten Hold, and four Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $32.24.
• Regions Financial exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.68 in EPS versus $0.63 forecast and $1.95 billion in revenue. The bank also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share, implying a 3.9% annualized yield.

Amundi decreased its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,440,760 shares of the bank's stock after selling 344,083 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.52% of Regions Financial worth $115,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,152 shares of the bank's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 76,797 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 22,216 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 0.7% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 71,717 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 81.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,677 shares of the bank's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 5,233 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Regions Financial by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 141,155 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Regions Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Stephens began coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Friday, July 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Regions Financial news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $195,760.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF opened at $31.01 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $29.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.70 and a 52-week high of $32.47.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.27%.

Regions Financial Profile

Regions Financial Corporation NYSE: RF is a U.S. bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services. Its primary banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, serves retail and commercial customers through a combination of branch and ATM networks, digital channels and relationship-based delivery. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, and payment and treasury services.

In addition to core banking, Regions offers wealth management, trust and brokerage services, insurance solutions, and capital markets capabilities to corporate and institutional clients.

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