First Financial Bankshares Inc Makes New Investment in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 843,022 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $22,846,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $254,564,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 52.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,523,714 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $357,417,000 after acquiring an additional 4,679,285 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 286.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,022,031 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $106,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,505 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 151.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,939,544 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,625,557 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,976,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137,062 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $195,760.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF opened at $28.91 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.73 and a 200-day moving average of $27.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.00. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $21.40 and a 12-month 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.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 23.13%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.47.

Regions Financial Company 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.