Regions Financial Corporation $RF Stock Position Decreased by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management trimmed its stake in Regions Financial by 15.0%, selling 235,286 shares and ending the quarter with 1,331,714 shares worth about $36.09 million amid roughly 79.4% institutional ownership.
• Regions announced a quarterly dividend of $0.265 (annualized $1.06, ~4.2% yield) and the board authorized a $3.0 billion share buyback program that could repurchase up to ~12.9% of outstanding shares.
• The bank reported Q4 EPS of $0.57, missing estimates by $0.04, and analyst coverage is mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target near $29.91.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,331,714 shares of the bank's stock after selling 235,286 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.15% of Regions Financial worth $36,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RF. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 52.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,523,714 shares of the bank's stock valued at $357,417,000 after purchasing an additional 4,679,285 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $246,790,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,205,989 shares of the bank's stock worth $241,289,000 after purchasing an additional 233,458 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Regions Financial by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,254,555 shares of the bank's stock valued at $164,933,000 after purchasing an additional 689,313 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Regions Financial by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,805,951 shares of the bank's stock valued at $153,103,000 after purchasing an additional 93,389 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore lowered Regions Financial from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Regions Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total transaction of $1,036,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,635.82. This trade represents a 67.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Stock Down 1.5%

Regions Financial stock opened at $25.13 on Friday. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.74 and a 52 week high of $31.53. The stock has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50-day moving average price is $27.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 22.44%.The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is 46.29%.

Regions Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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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