Regions Financial Corporation $RF Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management cut its Regions Financial stake by 32% in the first quarter, selling 89,954 shares and retaining 191,370 shares valued at approximately $5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.39% of the bank.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on RF, with a consensus price target of $32.24; recent targets range from $31 to $36. The stock recently opened at $31.01, near its 12-month high of $32.47.
• Regions Financial exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.68 in EPS versus the $0.63 consensus and $1.95 billion in revenue. The bank also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30, implying a 3.9% annualized yield.

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,370 shares of the bank's stock after selling 89,954 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $4,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 260.4% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 91.5% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,166 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Regions Financial

In other Regions Financial news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $195,760.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Evercore reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Regions Financial from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Regions Financial from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.24.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $31.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $29.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.45. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.70 and a 12 month high of $32.47.

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

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is 43.27%.

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.

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