Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) Stake Lifted by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,384,061 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 757,946 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.81% of Regions Financial worth $173,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $305,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $1,438,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,236,000. Prana Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Regions Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,324,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Regions Financial by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 202,983 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,774,000 after buying an additional 17,692 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RF. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.80.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other Regions Financial 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 price of $21.18 per share, with a total value of $48,714.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,353.48. This represents a 15.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of RF traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.37. The company had a trading volume of 7,082,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,119,052. The company's 50 day moving average price is $20.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.18. The stock has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.97. Regions Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $17.72 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.08%.

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.