Groupama Asset Managment Reduces Stock Position in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 63.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,391 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 84,625 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 3.9% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 10,230 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,670 shares of the bank’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 103,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,735,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 11.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,896 shares of the bank’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 75,163 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Regions Financial news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 67.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $25.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.81. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.74 and a 12-month high of $31.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Regions Financial announced that its board has approved a share 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 typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 46.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on RF. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Regions Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.97.

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.