Raymond James & Associates Sells 102,279 Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its holdings in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 9.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,007,309 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 102,279 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Regions Financial were worth $23,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the first quarter valued at $26,000. American National Bank & Trust raised its position in Regions Financial by 1,856.7% during the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 75.6% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 530.0% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RF stock opened at $23.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.98. Regions Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $24.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.17.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 18.91%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is 54.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on RF. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Regions Financial from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.35.

About Regions Financial

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.