Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Stock Position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,196 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Regions Financial by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,876 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Regions Financial by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,346 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 181.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 2,078 shares during the period. Finally, Proathlete Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $77,000. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Regions Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of RF stock opened at $26.30 on Tuesday. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.52.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 21.81%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Regions Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on RF shares. Stephens increased their price target on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Cowen started coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.33.

Regions Financial Company 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.