Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Stock Position in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 58.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 329,351 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 462,504 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $8,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,837,339 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $862,792,000 after acquiring an additional 215,061 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,836,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $618,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,312,449 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,348,237 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $524,337,000 after purchasing an additional 573,659 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Regions Financial by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 18,356,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $497,459,000 after buying an additional 231,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Regions Financial by 75.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,358,969 shares of the bank’s stock worth $348,936,000 after buying an additional 5,754,487 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of RF stock opened at $30.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.37. Regions Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $22.70 and a fifty-two week high of $32.47.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. Regions Financial had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is 43.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of Regions Financial 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 through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on RF. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.21.

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.