Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stake in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) by 9.4% in Q4, adding 38,328 shares to hold 444,329 shares worth about $12.04 million (≈0.05% of the company).
• Regions reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating estimates by $0.01 while revenue of $1.87 billion slightly missed consensus, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.265 (3.8% yield) payable July 1.
• The stock carries a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target of $30.12, though recent analyst views range from Buy to Sell with price targets roughly $29–$32.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 444,329 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 38,328 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned 0.05% of Regions Financial worth $12,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RF. GAM Holding AG bought a new stake in Regions Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,760,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Regions Financial by 6.8% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 690,344 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,204,000 after acquiring an additional 44,252 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Regions Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,378,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Regions Financial by 111.2% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 290,563 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,662,000 after acquiring an additional 152,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Regions Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,669,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Regions Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Evercore cut Regions Financial from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.12.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE RF opened at $28.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business's 50 day moving average price is $27.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.97. Regions Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $20.55 and a fifty-two week high of $31.53. The company has a market cap of $24.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.02.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 23.13%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is 44.17%.

About Regions Financial

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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