Korea Investment CORP Grows Stock Holdings in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 43.5%, owning 828,245 shares valued at approximately $18 million.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.60, which surpassed analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $1.91 billion, a 10.1% year-over-year increase.
• Regions Financial has announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, increasing from $0.25, indicating a focus on returning value to shareholders.

Korea Investment CORP raised its position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 43.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 828,245 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 251,192 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.09% of Regions Financial worth $17,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RF. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 304,011 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,606,000 after purchasing an additional 15,652 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,428,091 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,762,000 after purchasing an additional 21,169 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 157,566 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,424,000 after purchasing an additional 18,684 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 62.4% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,367 shares of the bank's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $272,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on RF. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $750,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 90,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,273,784.15. This represents a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 stock was purchased at an average price of $25.48 per share, for a total transaction of $101,920.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,638.84. This represents a 167.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:RF traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.86. 5,942,735 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,227,368. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.68. The company has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.01. Regions Financial Corporation has a one year low of $17.74 and a one year high of $27.96. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.265 dividend. This is a boost from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is currently 46.51%.

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.