BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Trims Stock Position in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S has reduced its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 61.4% during Q1, leaving it with 31,811 shares valued at approximately $691,000.
• Several other hedge funds have increased their holdings in Regions Financial, with Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raising its stake by 216.6% in the same period.
• Regions Financial announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.265 per share, reflecting a positive change from its prior dividend of $0.25.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lowered its stake in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 61.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,811 shares of the bank's stock after selling 50,542 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in Regions Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 52,531 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in Regions Financial by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 13,369 shares of the bank's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Regions Financial by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,641 shares of the bank's stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Regions Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 22,291 shares of the bank's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in Regions Financial by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on RF shares. Stephens increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Regions Financial news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 90,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,273,784.15. This trade represents a 24.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Roger W. Jenkins acquired 4,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $101,920.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,638.84. The trade was a 167.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

RF stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $27.32. The stock had a trading volume of 6,690,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,347,395. The stock has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.74. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $27.96.

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

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This is a positive change from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.51%.

About Regions Financial

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.