VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems initiated a position in Regions Financial by purchasing 862,363 shares valued at approximately $26.0 million, while institutional investors collectively own 79.39% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Regions Financial receiving an overall “Hold” consensus rating and an average price target of $32.24.
• Regions Financial exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.68 in EPS versus $0.63 forecast, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share, representing a 3.9% yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 862,363 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $26,043,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.10% of Regions Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RF. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,148 shares of the bank's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 83.5% in the second quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 813 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Master S Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Master S Wealth Management Inc. now owns 38,631 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,604 shares of the bank's stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its position in Regions Financial by 17.3% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 2,589 shares of the bank's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Evercore restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Friday, July 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.24.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF stock opened at $30.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.70 and a 52-week high of $32.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $30.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.80. The company has a market capitalization of $25.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.99.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 23.33%.The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

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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