M&G Plc Lowers Stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

M&G Plc cut its position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 91.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,786 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 475,047 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RF. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 19,054 shares of the bank’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the third quarter valued at about $988,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the third quarter worth about $90,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 10.6% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 125,439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 12,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Regions Financial by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,722,024 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,175,000 after purchasing an additional 102,380 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of RF opened at $25.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.27 and a 200 day moving average of $21.35. The company has a market cap of $23.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.16. Regions Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $14.86 and a 52-week high of $26.33.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 18.78%. Regions Financial’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on RF. Argus upgraded Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.45.

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.