Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 44.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,219 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 23,213 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RF. Welch Group LLC raised its position in Regions Financial by 1.9% during the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 150,235 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $1,155,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 171,587 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 23,808 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 490.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 59,248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 49,211 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

A number of analysts recently weighed in on RF shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $31.50 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Brean Capital initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.80.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RF stock opened at $30.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.00. Regions Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.70 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.97.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a net margin of 23.13% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $195,760.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.