Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 1,354 Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,593 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,354 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 157.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 75.6% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Regions Financial by 530.0% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Regions Financial stock opened at $23.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.17. Regions Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $13.95 and a 12-month high of $24.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a net margin of 18.91% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Regions Financial’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RF shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.35.

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.