Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) Shares Sold by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,369 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,052 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the first quarter worth $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,477 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 2,000.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 277.2% in the third quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 2,384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,752 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Price Performance

NYSE RF opened at $19.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.92. The firm has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.21. Regions Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $21.08.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 14.50% and a net margin of 22.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is presently 45.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on RF shares. Argus cut Regions Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Regions Financial from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com cut Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Regions Financial from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.39.

About Regions Financial

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.