215,801 Shares in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Bought by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired 215,801 shares of Regions Financial Corporation, valued at approximately $4.69 million.
• Regions Financial recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.265 per share, resulting in a yield of 4.3% and reflecting the company's strong financial performance.
• The company's stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with a target price ranging from $25.00 to $31.00, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 215,801 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,690,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RF. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,468,674 shares of the bank's stock worth $363,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,954 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Regions Financial by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,522,612 shares of the bank's stock valued at $129,892,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907,121 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $31,480,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the first quarter valued at $28,726,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,247,882 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, July 21st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.33.

Regions Financial Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE RF opened at $24.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $27.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.30%.

Regions Financial 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.

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