USS Investment Management Ltd Cuts Stake in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 42.7%, now holding 100,178 shares valued at approximately $2.18 million.
• Regions Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.25 to $0.265, reflecting a 3.9% yield for shareholders.
• Analysts generally have a positive outlook for Regions Financial, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a revised average price target of $27.33.

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 42.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,178 shares of the bank's stock after selling 74,600 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $2,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in RF. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 35.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,990,446 shares of the bank's stock worth $456,122,000 after buying an additional 5,521,772 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $53,018,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Regions Financial by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,092,742 shares of the bank's stock worth $675,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909,162 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Regions Financial by 3.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 44,211,562 shares of the bank's stock valued at $960,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,512 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RF traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $27.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,681,346 shares, 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 fifty day moving average of $25.86 and a 200 day moving average of $22.97. Regions Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.74 and a twelve month high of $27.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.02.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Roger W. Jenkins bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.48 per share, for a total transaction of $101,920.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,638.84. This trade represents a 167.86% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.47.

Regions Financial Profile

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.