Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) Stock Position Boosted by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 829,399 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 126,772 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $19,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in Regions Financial by 122.9% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 2,354.9% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Regions Financial in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In related news, Director Joia M. Johnson acquired 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.18 per share, with a total value of $48,714.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,353.48. The trade was a 15.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 3,868 shares of company stock valued at $86,722. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF opened at $18.64 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Regions Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.72 and a 1 year high of $27.96. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.36%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.95.

Regions Financial Profile

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.