Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New $214,000 Investment in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 11,042 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,585,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,970,871,000 after buying an additional 2,982,310 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 8.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 53,824,390 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $925,780,000 after purchasing an additional 4,160,768 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Regions Financial by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,169,876 shares of the bank’s stock worth $346,922,000 after purchasing an additional 618,384 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 15.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,086,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $190,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 13.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,761,543 shares of the bank’s stock worth $185,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,045 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on RF shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus lowered shares of Regions Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup raised shares of Regions Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.34.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE RF opened at $19.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.66 and its 200 day moving average is $18.31. Regions Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month high of $21.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 19.75% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Regions Financial

In related news, Director William C. Rhodes III bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.37 per share, with a total value of $968,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,500. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 23,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.95, for a total transaction of $458,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,671 shares in the company, valued at $831,336.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William C. Rhodes III purchased 50,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.37 per share, with a total value of $968,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,500. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.