Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Invests $630,000 in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 24,128 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $630,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $152,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,483 shares of the bank’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 988,167 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,811,000 after acquiring an additional 108,479 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the first quarter valued at about $650,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 10,959 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $195,760.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $31.67 on Friday. Regions Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $22.70 and a twelve month high of $32.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.24.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 23.13% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on RF. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.32.

Key Stories Impacting Regions Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Regions Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Regions Financial beat Q2 earnings expectations, reporting $0.68 per share versus forecasts around $0.63-$0.64, which suggests better-than-expected profitability. Regions Financial (RF) Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Net interest income and lower credit provision helped offset higher expenses, signaling solid underlying banking trends and improving asset quality. Regions Financial Q2 earnings beat on solid NII, lower credit provision
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by 13.2% to $0.30 per share, a sign of management confidence and a shareholder-friendly capital return policy. Regions Financial Corp. Announces 13% Increase in Common Stock Dividend and Declares Preferred Stock Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue was slightly below expectations, which tempers the earnings beat and suggests some top-line pressure remains. Regions Financial Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, NII, Expenses Up Y/Y

Regions Financial Company Profile

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a U.S. bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services. Its primary banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, serves retail and commercial customers through a combination of branch and ATM networks, digital channels and relationship-based delivery. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, and payment and treasury services.

In addition to core banking, Regions offers wealth management, trust and brokerage services, insurance solutions, and capital markets capabilities to corporate and institutional clients.