Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Regional Management Corp. (NYSE:RM)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Regional Management Corp. (NYSE:RM) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,691 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,042 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.43% of Regional Management worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Regional Management by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Regional Management by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,233 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Regional Management by 73.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 9,910 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Regional Management by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 191,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 6,288 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Regional Management by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 152,572 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,991,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. 98.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens started coverage on Regional Management in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert William Beck sold 7,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.55, for a total transaction of $231,235.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,443 shares in the company, valued at $3,367,069.65. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Fund L.P. Forager sold 21,805 shares of Regional Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.17, for a total value of $701,466.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,021,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,852,518.72. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,973 shares of company stock worth $2,656,230 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.50% of the company’s stock.

Regional Management Price Performance

NYSE:RM opened at $36.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 44.42, a current ratio of 44.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.35. The stock has a market cap of $367.74 million, a PE ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 1.49. Regional Management Corp. has a 52 week low of $21.72 and a 52 week high of $37.52.

Regional Management (NYSE:RM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The credit services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.10. Regional Management had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 7.01%. As a group, analysts forecast that Regional Management Corp. will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regional Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Regional Management’s payout ratio is 28.85%.

About Regional Management

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.