Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Sells 2,977 Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 1.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 149,900 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,977 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $3,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 281.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 79,593 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 58,739 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 1,075.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 44,781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 40,972 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 415,105 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,734,000 after buying an additional 98,003 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $19,322,000. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Regions Financial during the first quarter valued at $33,829,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Price Performance

NYSE RF opened at $23.82 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.89. Regions Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $13.72 and a 52 week high of $24.47.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 18.91%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on RF. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Regions Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.86.

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.