State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stock Position in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in Regions Financial by 16.7%, selling 42,418 shares and leaving it with 211,685 shares worth about $5.74 million at quarter-end.
• Regions topped EPS expectations with $0.62 (vs. $0.61) but missed revenue estimates ($1.87B vs. $1.92B), reported a 12.7% ROE, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.265 (annualized $1.06) for a roughly 3.8% yield.
• Analyst views are mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" and $30.12 target while recent broker notes include both price-target cuts and raises from firms like Morgan Stanley, Piper Sandler, DA Davidson, Cantor Fitzgerald and Barclays.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 211,685 shares of the bank's stock after selling 42,418 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $5,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. United Community Bank acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 91.5% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,166 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 260.4% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on RF shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.12.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of RF opened at $28.21 on Monday. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.55 and a 52 week high of $31.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $24.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $27.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.97.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 23.13%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.17%.

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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