Regions Financial Corporation $RF Shares Sold by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 27.4%, selling 20,091 shares and retaining 53,241 shares valued at approximately $1.16 million.
• Regions Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.25, representing an annualized yield of 4.1%.
• After announcing its latest earnings, Regions Financial beat the consensus earnings estimate, reporting $0.60 EPS against an expected $0.56 EPS, with revenue of $1.91 billion.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 27.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,241 shares of the bank's stock after selling 20,091 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RF. IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 0.9% in the first quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 52,531 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 8.7% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,641 shares of the bank's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 22,291 shares of the bank's stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 18.6% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the bank's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 76,922 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,672,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of RF traded up $0.0050 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.7250. 8,372,166 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,078,549. Regions Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.74 and a 1 year high of $27.96. The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.44 and its 200-day moving average is $22.64. 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 has a market capitalization of $22.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.01.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 21.81%.The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Regions Financial's payout ratio is 46.51%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on RF shares. Cowen started coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen assumed 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 boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.33.

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.