Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management boosted its stake in Regions Financial by 34.7% in the fourth quarter, buying more than 1.6 million shares and bringing its holding to 6.23 million shares worth about $168.8 million.
• Regions Financial reported Q1 earnings of $0.62 per share, slightly beating estimates, though revenue came in below expectations at $1.87 billion. Analysts currently see the stock as a Hold with a consensus price target of $30.47.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, equal to a 3.6% yield annualized. An executive also sold shares recently, while institutional investors continue to own the vast majority of the stock.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 34.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,230,601 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 1,605,836 shares during the period. Regions Financial comprises about 2.1% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned 0.71% of Regions Financial worth $168,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,837,339 shares of the bank's stock worth $862,792,000 after buying an additional 215,061 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,836,163 shares of the bank's stock valued at $618,860,000 after buying an additional 9,312,449 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Regions Financial by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,356,400 shares of the bank's stock valued at $497,459,000 after buying an additional 231,924 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Regions Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $254,564,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Regions Financial by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,286,352 shares of the bank's stock valued at $251,660,000 after buying an additional 357,101 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RF stock opened at $29.24 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $27.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.67. The firm has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.00. Regions Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $21.40 and a 1 year high of $31.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $195,760.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on RF. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Regions Financial from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Regions Financial from $31.50 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.47.

Regions Financial Profile

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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