Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 159,000 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden more than doubled its position in Regions Financial during the first quarter, buying 159,000 additional shares and bringing its stake to 303,433 shares valued at about $7.9 million.
• Other institutional investors also increased their RF holdings, and institutions now own 79.39% of the company’s stock.
• Regions Financial reported Q1 EPS of $0.62, slightly ahead of estimates, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, implying a 3.5% annual yield.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 110.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303,433 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 159,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $7,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RF. Platform Technology Partners purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $309,000. Strs Ohio raised its stake in Regions Financial by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 796,047 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,793,000 after acquiring an additional 179,362 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 57.0% during the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 30,937 shares of the bank's stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 11,238 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 5.4% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 106,659 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,786,000 after purchasing an additional 5,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 187,988 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RF. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Regions Financial from $31.50 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.80.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of RF stock opened at $30.29 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $28.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.01. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.70 and a 52 week high of $31.53. The stock has a market cap of $25.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Regions Financial's payout ratio is currently 44.17%.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other Regions Financial news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $195,760.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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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