Scientech Research LLC Lowers Position in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC reduced its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 44.2%, selling 21,357 shares and bringing its holdings to 26,915 shares valued at approximately $585,000.
• Regions Financial has seen significant activity from other institutional investors, with Captrust Financial Advisors and others increasing their stakes by percentages ranging from 14.0% to 40.4% during the last quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, which marks an increase from the previous dividend of $0.25, reflecting a yield of 3.9% and a payout ratio of 49.30%.

Scientech Research LLC lessened its position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 44.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,915 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,357 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RF. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 44,211,562 shares of the bank's stock worth $960,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,512 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,092,742 shares of the bank's stock worth $675,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,909,162 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,990,446 shares of the bank's stock worth $456,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,521,772 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,010,267 shares of the bank's stock worth $198,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,369,608 shares of the bank's stock worth $220,373,000 after purchasing an additional 931,875 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In related news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total transaction of $750,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 90,915 shares in the company, valued at $2,273,784.15. This trade represents a 24.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Roger W. Jenkins acquired 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $101,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,638.84. This trade represents a 167.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of Regions Financial stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.05. 18,681,346 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,783,596. 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 cap of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average is $25.86 and its 200-day moving average is $22.97. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.74 and a 52 week high of $27.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 21.81%.The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Regions Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is 49.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Stephens upped their target price on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.47.

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.