James Investment Research Inc. Grows Stock Position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

James Investment Research Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,401 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 32,331 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.'s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $3,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RF. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 122.9% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,150 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Regions Financial by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,729 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Regions Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $24.06. The stock had a trading volume of 8,375,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,919,897. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Regions Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $17.72 and a twelve month high of $27.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day moving average price is $24.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.88.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. Regions Financial's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is 51.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens upgraded Regions Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised their target price on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $32.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.67.

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.