Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Regions Financial (NYSE:RF)

Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 19,223 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 822% compared to the typical volume of 2,084 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regions Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 530.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of RF traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,361,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,894,917. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Regions Financial has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $27.96. The stock has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.42 and its 200 day moving average is $22.03.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Regions Financial will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Wedbush raised their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Regions Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Regions Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.71.

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.