Regions Financial Corporation $RF Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stake

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 79.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 947,440 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 419,836 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $25,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 50,667,092 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,543,092,000 after acquiring an additional 2,953,594 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Regions Financial by 75.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,358,969 shares of the bank’s stock worth $348,936,000 after acquiring an additional 5,754,487 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Regions Financial by 1.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,827,358 shares of the bank’s stock worth $256,633,000 after acquiring an additional 140,398 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Regions Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $236,756,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Regions Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $219,068,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of RF opened at $28.65 on Thursday. Regions Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.59 and a 1-year high of $32.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.27 and a 200 day moving average of $28.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.99 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.70 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Regions Financial from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Regions Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. TD Cowen began coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on Regions Financial from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Regions Financial Company Profile

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Its principal subsidiary, Regions Bank, provides banking and related financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions. The company’s services include consumer and commercial banking, lending, mortgage banking, treasury and payment services, and wealth management. Regions also offers services such as investment and trust management through its wealth business. Regions traces its history to First Alabama Bancshares, established in 1971, and serves customers across the South and parts of the Midwest and Texas.