Azora Capital LP Purchases New Shares in Truist Financial Corporation $TFC

Key Points

• Azora Capital LP bought 2,524,440 shares of Truist (NYSE:TFC) in the third quarter worth about $115.4M, making TFC Azora's third-largest holding (5.3% of its portfolio) and equal to roughly 0.20% of Truist's shares.
• Truist's board authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program (up to ~15.7% of shares) and the bank pays a quarterly $0.52 dividend (annualized $2.08, ~4.7% yield).
• Truist missed recent quarterly estimates—$1.00 EPS vs. $1.09 expected and $4.93B revenue vs. $5.32B expected—while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $56.47 target.

Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,524,440 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $115,417,000. Truist Financial makes up 5.3% of Azora Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Azora Capital LP owned 0.20% of Truist Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TFC. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Truist Financial in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in Truist Financial by 259.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 693 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Truist Financial by 631.6% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Truist Financial by 1,189.5% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 735 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Truist Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 71.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Truist Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays cut shares of Truist Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $56.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Truist Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Truist Financial from $51.50 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Truist Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.47.

Truist Financial Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:TFC opened at $43.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company's 50-day moving average price is $50.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.70. The company has a market cap of $54.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. Truist Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.56 and a fifty-two week high of $56.19.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.09). Truist Financial had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 17.09%.The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Truist Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Truist Financial Corporation will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial's dividend payout ratio is 54.59%.

Truist Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael Baron Maguire sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.13, for a total value of $651,690.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,323 shares in the company, valued at $3,725,811.99. This trade represents a 14.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Cynthia B. Powell sold 3,500 shares of Truist Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.49, for a total value of $183,715.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 667 shares in the company, valued at $35,010.83. The trade was a 83.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Truist Financial Company Profile

Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company that provides a broad range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, Truist Bank, and other operating units. The company offers traditional retail banking products and services such as deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and credit and debit card services. Truist also serves commercial clients with middle-market and corporate lending, treasury and payment solutions, and specialty finance products.

Beyond core banking, Truist operates wealth management, asset management, insurance and capital markets businesses.

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