Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 829,399 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 126,772 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.09% of Regions Financial worth $19,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RF. Quarry LP boosted its position in Regions Financial by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,729 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 17,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 19,270 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 24,382 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 19,173 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Trading Down 4.9 %

Regions Financial stock opened at $18.64 on Monday. Regions Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.72 and a 1 year high of $27.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.88 and its 200-day moving average is $23.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 12.83%. Regions Financial’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.36%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is currently 51.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joia M. Johnson bought 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.18 per share, for a total transaction of $48,714.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,353.48. This trade represents a 15.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have purchased 3,868 shares of company stock valued at $86,722 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.