Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 11,866,623 Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,866,623 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $279,103,000. Norges Bank owned 1.31% of Regions Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RF. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in Regions Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,693,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 56,755 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 13,587 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 93,586 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,498,333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,391,000 after purchasing an additional 211,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $741,000. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on RF shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.17.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

RF stock opened at $21.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Regions Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.72 and a 1 year high of $27.96. The company has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.93.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. Regions Financial’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.67%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Regions Financial

In other Regions Financial news, Director Joia M. Johnson acquired 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased 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. The trade was a 15.15 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 3,993 shares of company stock valued at $89,682. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.