Tredje AP fonden Reduces Stock Position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Tredje AP fonden cut its holdings in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,201 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,584 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 30,504 shares of the bank’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 125,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,634,000 after acquiring an additional 10,871 shares in the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,252,693 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,562,000 after acquiring an additional 979,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 70.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 35,111 shares of the bank’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 14,499 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Stock Up 2.9 %

RF opened at $23.37 on Friday. Regions Financial Co. has a one year low of $13.72 and a one year high of $23.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.02 and its 200-day moving average is $20.39. The company has a market capitalization of $21.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.17.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 18.91%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Regions Financial Co. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This is an increase from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is currently 54.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on RF shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.57.

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.