BlackRock Inc. Sells 891,918 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• BlackRock reduced its Regions Financial stake by 891,918 shares, or 1.1%. It still held 81.3 million shares worth approximately $2.46 billion, representing 9.53% of the bank.
• Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $32.24; individual targets ranged from $31 to $36.
• Regions Financial reported quarterly EPS of $0.68, exceeding the $0.63 estimate, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 from $0.27, implying a 3.9% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 81,326,428 shares of the bank's stock after selling 891,918 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned 9.53% of Regions Financial worth $2,456,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Regions Financial by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,148 shares of the bank's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 83.5% in the second quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 813 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Master S Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. Master S Wealth Management Inc. now owns 38,631 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Regions Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,604 shares of the bank's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its stake in Regions Financial by 17.3% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 2,589 shares of the bank's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on RF shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Stephens initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.24.

Regions Financial Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE RF opened at $30.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $26.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.00. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.70 and a 12 month high of $32.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.78.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.27%.

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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