First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 177,155 Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 39.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 621,472 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 177,155 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $14,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RF. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 17,642 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 15,806 shares of the bank’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 41,137 shares of the bank’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,792 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Regions Financial during the first quarter valued at $48,000. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

NYSE RF opened at $23.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Regions Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month high of $24.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.65 and a 200 day moving average of $20.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.17.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 18.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Wedbush raised Regions Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $23.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.