HL Financial Services LLC Cuts Position in Regions Financial Corporation (RF)

HL Financial Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 8.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,168 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,791 shares during the period. HL Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Regions Financial Corporation were worth $295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lakeview Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial Corporation during the second quarter worth $236,000. Advisor Partners LLC increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 0.3% in the second quarter. Advisor Partners LLC now owns 20,041 shares of the bank’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 31.9% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 2,691,930 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,410,000 after buying an additional 650,931 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 24.9% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 129,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,892,000 after buying an additional 25,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 148.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 663,828 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,719,000 after buying an additional 396,822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.61% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) opened at 14.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 1.31. Regions Financial Corporation has a one year low of $9.37 and a one year high of $16.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $14.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.47.

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Regions Financial Corporation had a net margin of 20.25% and a return on equity of 7.51%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post $1.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This is a positive change from Regions Financial Corporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Regions Financial Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is 29.47%.

Regions Financial Corporation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.47 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BidaskClub downgraded Regions Financial Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Group LLC restated a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial Corporation in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Regions Financial Corporation in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Vining Sparks upgraded Regions Financial Corporation from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America Corporation restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial Corporation in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.21.

In other news, CFO David J. Turner, Jr. sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.95, for a total transaction of $971,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 121,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,811,342. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Fournier J. Gale III sold 35,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.59, for a total transaction of $522,686.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 109,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,594,949.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 124,514 shares of company stock worth $1,846,733 over the last three months. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Regions Financial Corporation

Regions Financial Corporation is a financial holding company. The Company conducts its banking operations through Regions Bank, an Alabama state-chartered commercial bank, which is a member of the Federal Reserve System. It operates in three segments: Corporate Bank, which represents its commercial banking functions, including commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and investor real estate lending; Consumer Bank, which represents its branch network, including consumer banking products and services related to residential first mortgages, home equity lines and loans, small business loans, indirect loans, consumer credit cards and other consumer loans, as well as the corresponding deposit relationships, and Wealth Management, which offers individuals, businesses, governmental institutions and non-profit entities a range of solutions to enable transfer of wealth.

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