Avanza Fonder AB Decreases Stock Holdings in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB reduced its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 25%, now holding 57,845 shares worth approximately $1.36 million.
• Regions Financial will pay an increased quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share on October 1st, up from $0.25, representing a 3.9% yield.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Regions Financial, with estimates now ranging from $29.00 to $30.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Avanza Fonder AB lowered its stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,845 shares of the bank's stock after selling 19,269 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RF. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Regions Financial by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304,011 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,606,000 after buying an additional 15,652 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,428,091 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,762,000 after buying an additional 21,169 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Regions Financial by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 157,566 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,424,000 after acquiring an additional 18,684 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 62.4% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,367 shares of the bank's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the first quarter worth about $272,000. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on RF shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.47.

Regions Financial Stock Down 2.2%

RF stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $26.57. The company had a trading volume of 18,541,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,628,070. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.17. The company has a market capitalization of $23.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Regions Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.74 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 21.81%.The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Regions Financial's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is presently 49.30%.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other Regions Financial news, Director Roger W. Jenkins bought 4,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company's stock, valued at $162,638.84. The trade was a 167.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $750,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 90,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,273,784.15. This trade represents a 24.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.