Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 45.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,418 shares of the bank's stock after selling 22,365 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,183,580 shares of the bank's stock valued at $686,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Regions Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,028,497 shares of the bank's stock valued at $540,284,000 after purchasing an additional 403,283 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Regions Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 17,053,457 shares of the bank's stock valued at $401,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,645 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,468,674 shares of the bank's stock valued at $363,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $279,103,000. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of RF traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.40. The company had a trading volume of 10,748,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,355,305. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $21.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.96. Regions Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.74 and a 1 year high of $27.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.04% and a net margin of 21.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is presently 48.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.80.

Regions Financial Profile

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.