Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,384,061 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 757,946 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $173,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 122.9% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,150 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Regions Financial by 2,354.9% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.6%

RF stock opened at $22.60 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.97. Regions Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.72 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. Regions Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 4.43%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.08%.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In other Regions Financial news, Director Joia M. Johnson acquired 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.18 per share, with a total value of $48,714.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at $370,353.48. The trade was a 15.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on RF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Stephens cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Regions Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

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.