Erste Asset Management GmbH Takes Position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 358,511 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $8,274,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RF. American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Regions Financial by 1,856.7% in the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 157.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Regions Financial by 530.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:RF opened at $27.26 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.16. Regions Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $16.51 and a 52-week high of $27.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 12.60%. Regions Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on RF. Citigroup lifted their target price on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens raised shares of Regions Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Regions Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.71.

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.