Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 52,884 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its Regions Financial stake by 5.2%, selling 52,884 shares and retaining 956,723 shares valued at approximately $28.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.39% of the bank.
• Regions Financial beat quarterly expectations with earnings of $0.68 per share versus the $0.63 consensus, while revenue reached $1.95 billion. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $2.63.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share, equivalent to a $1.20 annualized payout and a 3.8% yield. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $32.24.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 956,723 shares of the bank's stock after selling 52,884 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Regions Financial worth $28,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,255,888 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,135,000 after buying an additional 1,600,926 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Regions Financial by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,859,466 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,247,000 after buying an additional 69,191 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $1,939,000. Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 123.7% in the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 135,909 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,683,000 after acquiring an additional 75,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 108.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 675,296 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,301,000 after acquiring an additional 350,599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of RF stock opened at $31.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $30.44 and its 200 day moving average is $28.70. Regions Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $22.70 and a twelve month high of $32.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This is a positive change from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Regions Financial from $31.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Regions Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.24.

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.

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