Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 31,478 Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 87.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 67,634 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,478 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 1,856.7% during the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 157.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Regions Financial by 530.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on RF. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.94.

Regions Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of RF opened at $26.09 on Thursday. Regions Financial Co. has a one year low of $15.49 and a one year high of $26.73. The company has a market cap of $23.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.47.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.50%.

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.