Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $1.16 Million Investment in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Regions Financial, buying 44,200 shares worth about $1.16 million in the first quarter.
• Regions Financial posted mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $0.62 beating estimates by a penny, while revenue of $1.87 billion came in below expectations.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a Hold consensus rating, with an average price target of $30.80, while the company also pays a quarterly dividend yielding about 3.5%.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 44,200 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RF. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Regions Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,148 shares of the bank's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,604 shares of the bank's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Lcnb Corp grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 10,725 shares of the bank's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 10,505 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,455 shares of the bank's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $31.50 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.80.

Regions Financial Price Performance

NYSE:RF opened at $30.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.70 and a 52 week high of $31.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $28.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.00.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 23.13%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

About Regions Financial

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.