Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Invests $243,000 in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,432 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust increased its position in Regions Financial by 1,856.7% in the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in Regions Financial by 157.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Regions Financial by 75.6% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Regions Financial by 530.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE RF traded down $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.55. 1,097,298 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,915,450. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.94. The company has a market capitalization of $21.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.17. Regions Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $13.72 and a 12 month high of $24.47.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 18.91%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RF. StockNews.com lowered Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.64.

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.