Patton Fund Management Inc. Invests $255,000 in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. invested approximately $255,000 in Regions Financial Corporation by acquiring 10,862 shares in the second quarter.
• Analysts predict continued growth for Regions Financial, with several raising their target prices, including Morgan Stanley's increase from $27.00 to $29.00.
• Regions Financial recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.265, yielding about 4.0%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 10,862 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RF. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Regions Financial by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 20,210 shares of the bank's stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 229,249 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,392,000 after buying an additional 77,586 shares during the period. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2,064.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 475,691 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,337,000 after buying an additional 453,710 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 25,172 shares of the bank's stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 21st. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.58.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:RF opened at $26.63 on Friday. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.74 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.33 and a 200 day moving average of $23.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.02.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.30%.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In related news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total transaction of $750,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 90,915 shares in the company, valued at $2,273,784.15. This represents a 24.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Roger W. Jenkins purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $101,920.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,383 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.

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