Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $3.35 Million Stake in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation by 35.8%, selling 86,010 shares and owning 154,133 shares worth $3,349,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Regions Financial announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.265 per share, up from $0.25, with a yield of 4.1%, and the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.
• Analysts have given Regions Financial an average rating of "Moderate Buy"**, with a consensus price target of $27.33, reflecting optimism about the company's performance.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 35.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,133 shares of the bank's stock after selling 86,010 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $3,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in Regions Financial by 637.3% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,224 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Regions Financial during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Regions Financial by 76.6% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,876 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Regions Financial by 30.7% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,346 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 181.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,225 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,078 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.4%

RF stock traded up $0.1150 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.8350. The company had a trading volume of 13,900,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,117,680. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.44 and a 200-day moving average of $22.64. Regions Financial Corporation has a one year low of $17.74 and a one year high of $27.96. The stock has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd 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 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.30%.

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.