AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 14,333 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by purchasing an additional 14,333 shares, bringing its total ownership to over 1 million shares worth approximately $22.47 million.
• Regions Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.265 per share, up from $0.25, providing investors an annualized dividend yield of 3.9%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $27.47 for Regions Financial, with many suggesting a "Moderate Buy" rating based on recent stock performance and earnings results.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,051,412 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 14,333 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Regions Financial worth $22,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RF. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 20.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,010,267 shares of the bank's stock worth $198,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,347 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 2.0% during the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,065 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 12.3% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,996 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 5,494 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the first quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 2.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 33,293 shares of the bank's stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RF traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $27.05. The stock had a trading volume of 18,681,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,861,473. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.94. Regions Financial Corporation has a one year low of $17.74 and a one year high of $27.96. The firm has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%. Regions Financial's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Regions Financial's payout ratio is presently 49.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on RF shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roger W. Jenkins bought 4,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $101,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,638.84. This represents a 167.86% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of Regions Financial 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 90,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,273,784.15. The trade was a 24.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.