Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Acquires New Shares in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co has acquired a new position in Regions Financial Corporation, purchasing 9,933 shares valued at approximately $216,000.
• A number of institutional investors have increased their stakes in Regions Financial, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock, with institutional ownership now at 79.39%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.265 per share, representing a 4.0% yield, reflecting its strong financial performance with a recent earnings beat.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,933 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 637.3% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,224 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Regions Financial by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,876 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was 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. This represents a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roger W. Jenkins purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

RF stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.92. 6,527,283 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,871,068. Regions Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.74 and a 1-year high of $27.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.99.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The business's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.47.

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.