Norges Bank Buys Shares of 9,393,493 Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 9,393,493 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $254,564,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. United Community Bank acquired a new position in Regions Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Regions Financial by 91.5% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,166 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Regions Financial by 260.4% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Regions Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Regions Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Regions Financial from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Regions Financial from $31.50 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.47.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $28.03 on Wednesday. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $21.00 and a 12 month high of $31.53. The stock has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 23.13%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

Regions Financial 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.