Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 398,088 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 423,768 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 398,088 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $11,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAM Holding AG purchased a new position in Regions Financial during the third quarter worth $1,760,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,205,989 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $241,289,000 after acquiring an additional 233,458 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 690,344 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,204,000 after acquiring an additional 44,252 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,378,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Regions Financial by 111.2% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 290,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,662,000 after purchasing an additional 152,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $25.13 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.97 and its 200 day moving average is $26.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Regions Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.74 and a 1 year high of $31.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.02.

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 declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 12.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $31.00 price objective on Regions Financial in a report on Monday, January 19th. Evercore lowered Regions Financial from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.91.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,635.82. The trade was a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.