Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Buys 45,946 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its stake in Regions Financial by 259.6% in Q4, buying 45,946 additional shares and lifting its total holdings to 63,646 shares worth about $1.73 million.
• Institutional interest in RF remains high, with 79.39% of the stock owned by institutions; several other funds also increased or initiated positions during the quarter.
• Analysts are mixed on Regions Financial: the stock carries an overall “Hold” rating with an average target price of $30.06, while the company also reported quarterly EPS of $0.62, slightly above expectations, and announced a $0.265 quarterly dividend.

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 259.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 63,646 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 45,946 shares during the quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 70,335 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 170,261 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506 shares during the period. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth $23,840,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 1,459.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 52,353 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 48,996 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth $1,577,000. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on RF shares. Brean Capital started coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $31.50 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $195,760.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Regions Financial Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:RF opened at $26.65 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.17. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $20.79 and a 12 month high of $31.53.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 23.13% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.17%.

Regions Financial Company Profile

Regions Financial Corporation NYSE: RF is a U.S. bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services. Its primary banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, serves retail and commercial customers through a combination of branch and ATM networks, digital channels and relationship-based delivery. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, and payment and treasury services.

In addition to core banking, Regions offers wealth management, trust and brokerage services, insurance solutions, and capital markets capabilities to corporate and institutional clients.

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