Regional Management (NYSE:RM) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Regional Management (NYSE:RM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Separately, Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Regional Management in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

Regional Management Price Performance

Shares of RM traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.34. 134,301 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,608. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.33, a quick ratio of 41.16 and a current ratio of 41.17. The company has a market cap of $279.72 million, a PE ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.45. Regional Management has a 52-week low of $20.50 and a 52-week high of $34.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.21.

Regional Management (NYSE:RM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.69. Regional Management had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The company had revenue of $144.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Regional Management will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Regional Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Regional Management’s payout ratio is 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Regional Management news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L bought 4,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.99 per share, with a total value of $98,558.13. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 470,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,825,876.05. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Regional Management

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Regional Management by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 13,634 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Regional Management by 53.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,974 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Regional Management by 15.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Regional Management by 34.1% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Regional Management by 3.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 107,125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,737 shares in the last quarter. 98.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regional Management Company Profile

Regional Management Corp., a diversified consumer finance company, provides various installment loan products primarily to customers with limited access to consumer credit from banks, thrifts, credit card companies, and other lenders in the United States. It offers small and large installment loans; and retail loans to finance the purchase of furniture, appliances, and other retail products.