Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $8.48 Million Holdings in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation by 68.1%, owning 394,313 shares worth approximately $8.48 million after acquiring an additional 159,674 shares in the first quarter.
• Regions Financial's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.60, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.56, and a revenue of $1.91 billion, which was above the forecast of $1.86 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.265 per share from the previous $0.25, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 46.51%.

Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 68.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 394,313 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 159,674 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $8,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RF has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised their price target on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Regions Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

Insider Transactions at Regions Financial

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

Regions Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RF traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.76. 17,468,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,269,040. Regions Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.74 and a twelve month high of $27.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $23.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $24.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.68.

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

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is presently 49.30%.

Regions Financial 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.