Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $19.17, but opened at $20.29. Regions Financial shares last traded at $19.35, with a volume of 5,500,033 shares trading hands.

The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is 48.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Regions Financial

In other news, Director Joia M. Johnson bought 2,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.18 per share, with a total value of $48,714.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,353.48. The trade was a 15.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 3,343 shares of company stock worth $74,348 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regions Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LBP AM SA increased its position in Regions Financial by 149.4% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 730,614 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,184,000 after acquiring an additional 437,691 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $1,965,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,247,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Regions Financial by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 263,131 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,220,000 after purchasing an additional 99,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Regions Financial by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,479,865 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,806,000 after purchasing an additional 250,729 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.56.

Regions Financial Company 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.