Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Boosts Stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 35.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240,143 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,600 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $5,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 122.9% in the fourth 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 period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 29.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,729 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Compass Point increased their price target on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

NYSE RF opened at $23.44 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.96. The company has a market capitalization of $21.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20. Regions Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $17.72 and a 1 year high of $27.96. 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 (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is 51.55%.

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.