Board of the Pension Protection Fund Takes Position in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• The Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Regions Financial Corporation, purchasing 13,300 shares valued at approximately $313,000.
• Regions Financial reported a quarterly dividend increase from $0.25 to $0.265 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.06 with a yield of 4.4%.
• Despite a recent stock price decline of 4.5%, Regions Financial's average target price remains at $27.89, with most analysts rating the stock as a "Buy."

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,300 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RF. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 1.6% during the second quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 25,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Regions Financial by 0.6% during the second quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 72,400 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Regions Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 52,531 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 10,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 21,871 shares of the bank's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of RF stock opened at $24.16 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.30 and a 200-day moving average of $23.59. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.74 and a 12-month high of $27.96. The company has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.02.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 21.81%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is 49.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.89.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other Regions Financial news, Director Roger W. Jenkins bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $101,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,638.84. This trade represents a 167.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $750,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 90,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,273,784.15. The trade was a 24.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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