Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases 300,535 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC has increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 62.7%, acquiring an additional 300,535 shares, bringing its total ownership to 779,618 shares valued at approximately $16.94 million.
• Regions Financial has reported a net margin of 21.81% and a 10.1% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share of $0.60 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Regions Financial announced a dividend increase to $0.265 per share, yielding 4.1%, up from the previous dividend of $0.25.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 62.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 779,618 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 300,535 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.09% of Regions Financial worth $16,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RF. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 637.3% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,224 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 76.6% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,876 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 30.7% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,346 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 181.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,225 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,078 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of RF traded up $0.1050 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.8250. 10,641,416 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,094,091. The firm has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.01. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.74 and a 12-month high of $27.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.64.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The business's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. 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 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is presently 46.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total transaction of $750,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 90,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,273,784.15. The trade was a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Roger W. Jenkins bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $101,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,638.84. This trade represents a 167.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.