11,042 Shares in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,042 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,477 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 2,000.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 277.2% in the third quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 2,384 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,752 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 69.4% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 2,441 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Regions Financial by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:RF opened at $19.78 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Regions Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month high of $21.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 19.75%. Regions Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Regions Financial Co. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.85%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RF shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Regions Financial from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Regions Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.34.

Insider Activity

In other Regions Financial news, Director William C. Rhodes III bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.37 per share, for a total transaction of $968,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,500. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director William C. Rhodes III purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.37 per share, with a total value of $968,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,500. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William D. Ritter sold 23,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.95, for a total transaction of $458,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,671 shares in the company, valued at $831,336.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Company 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.