AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 730,813 Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 238.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,037,079 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 730,813 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Regions Financial worth $24,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 22,291 shares of the bank's stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Regions Financial by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,658,858 shares of the bank's stock valued at $227,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,882 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in shares of Regions Financial by 771.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 775,742 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,245,000 after purchasing an additional 686,733 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its position in Regions Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 32,541 shares of the bank's stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $4,980,000. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RF stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.28. 5,975,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,094,592. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $20.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.97. Regions Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $17.72 and a 52 week high of $27.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joia M. Johnson purchased 2,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.18 per share, with a total value of $48,714.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,353.48. The trade was a 15.15 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.53.

Regions Financial Company 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.