Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 296,309 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation by 11.2%, selling 296,309 shares, and now owns approximately 0.26% of the company valued at $50.84 million.
• Regions Financial recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.265, up from $0.25, with a dividend yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 46.51%.
• The company's stock price rose by 2.2% to $25.88, with a market cap of $23.09 billion, following positive earnings results exceeding analysts' expectations.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,341,821 shares of the bank's stock after selling 296,309 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.26% of Regions Financial worth $50,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RF. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Regions Financial by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,990,446 shares of the bank's stock valued at $456,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,521,772 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $53,018,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $675,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,909,162 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Regions Financial by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,522,612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $129,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Regions Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $31,480,000. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $750,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 90,915 shares in the company, valued at $2,273,784.15. This represents a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Regions Financial Stock Up 2.2%

Regions Financial stock opened at $25.88 on Thursday. Regions Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.74 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $24.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.62.

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

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RF shares. Wall Street Zen raised Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.33.

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.

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