Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Takes Position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 13,048 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in RF. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $279,103,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,468,674 shares of the bank's stock valued at $363,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,954 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 52.7% in the 4th 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Regions Financial by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 29,183,580 shares of the bank's stock worth $686,398,000 after buying an additional 1,396,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,480,000. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Trading Up 1.3%

RF traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,213,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,101,252. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $20.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.97. Regions Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $17.72 and a 1-year high of $27.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. Regions Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is 48.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joia M. Johnson acquired 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.18 per share, for a total transaction of $48,714.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at $370,353.48. This trade represents a 15.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen began coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.80.

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.