Invesco Ltd. Raises Position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation by 35.7%, now owning approximately 20.99 million shares worth $456 million.
• Regions Financial has recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.265, resulting in an annual yield of 4.3%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Regions Financial, with an average target price of $27.33.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 35.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,990,446 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 5,521,772 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 2.34% of Regions Financial worth $456,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RF. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 411,144 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,670,000 after purchasing an additional 18,314 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Regions Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 127,425 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 6,112 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 16,162 shares of the bank's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 5,276 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,480,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 84,386 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 5,598 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of RF stock traded up $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $26.04. 17,400,276 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,013,514. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.62. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.74 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The firm has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 24.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RF. Wall Street Zen raised Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.33.

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.