The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stock Holdings in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 0.9%, owning 2,075,636 shares valued at approximately $45.1 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• Regions Financial reported earnings of $0.60 per share for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.56, with revenue increasing by 10.1% year-over-year.
• The company is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share on October 1, which is an increase from its previous dividend of $0.25, representing an annual yield of 3.9%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,075,636 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 19,092 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.23% of Regions Financial worth $45,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RF. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Regions Financial by 637.3% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,224 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the first quarter worth $36,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the first quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the first quarter worth $58,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $750,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 90,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,273,784.15. This trade represents a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Roger W. Jenkins purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.48 per share, for a total transaction of $101,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,638.84. This represents a 167.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of Regions Financial stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.01. 17,454,384 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,628,284. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.87. The company has a market capitalization of $24.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Regions Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.74 and a 1 year high of $27.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is 49.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on RF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.33.

Regions Financial Company 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.