Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 4,847 Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 152,877 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $3,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 1,620.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 93,818 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after buying an additional 88,365 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Regions Financial by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,681 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 228.3% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,767 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,661,093 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,952,000 after buying an additional 606,647 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Regions Financial by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 127,198 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 32,855 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF stock opened at $23.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.18. Regions Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $23.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.98. 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 (NYSE:RF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 18.91% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. This is a boost from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.51.

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.