Kentucky Retirement Systems Boosts Stake in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Kentucky Retirement Systems doubled its Regions Financial stake by 101.6% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 113,733 shares valued at approximately $2.97 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.39% of the bank.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on RF, with a consensus price target of $32.24; ratings include six Buys, ten Holds, and four Sells.
• Regions Financial surpassed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.68 in EPS versus a $0.63 consensus estimate, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.27 to $0.30 per share, representing a 3.9% yield.

Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 101.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,733 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 57,330 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Regions Financial were worth $2,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $254,564,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,836,163 shares of the bank's stock valued at $618,860,000 after buying an additional 9,312,449 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 75.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,358,969 shares of the bank's stock valued at $348,936,000 after buying an additional 5,754,487 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 286.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,022,031 shares of the bank's stock valued at $106,061,000 after buying an additional 2,980,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 151.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,939,544 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,886,000 after buying an additional 2,371,048 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Regions Financial from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Stephens began coverage on Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Regions Financial news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $195,760.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF stock opened at $30.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.70 and a 52-week high of $32.47.

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

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

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

Regions Financial Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.