Bank of Montreal Can Lowers Stake in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 15.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,691,615 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 505,895 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.31% of Regions Financial worth $70,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial during the second quarter valued at $25,000. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 574.5% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $25.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.61 and its 200 day moving average is $26.89. Regions Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.74 and a 1 year high of $31.53.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 22.44%.Regions Financial’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.29%.

Regions Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on RF. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Evercore lowered Regions Financial from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Brean Capital began coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Regions Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.97.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total transaction of $1,036,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,635.82. The trade was a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Regions Financial

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.