SEB Asset Management AB Buys New Position in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• SEB Asset Management AB initiated a new position in Regions Financial during the first quarter, buying 181,801 shares valued at about $4.75 million.
• Regions Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.68 versus the $0.63 estimate and revenue of $1.95 billion, while analysts now expect full-year EPS of 2.61.
• The bank also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share from $0.27, implying an annualized yield of about 3.9%.

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 181,801 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 685.7% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the bank's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Regions Financial by 13.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 40,633 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 4,698 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in Regions Financial by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 36,426 shares of the bank's stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Regions Financial by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 447,305 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,684,000 after buying an additional 5,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Regions Financial by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 74,938 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,957,000 after buying an additional 18,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $30.87 on Thursday. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.70 and a 52-week high of $32.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $26.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.33.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a boost from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Regions Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Regions Financial news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $195,760.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.