National Pension Service Boosts Stock Holdings in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

National Pension Service grew its position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,765,082 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,745 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $46,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RF. GAM Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the third quarter worth about $1,760,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,205,989 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $241,289,000 after buying an additional 233,458 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 61,387 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,444,000 after buying an additional 15,820 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Regions Financial by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 690,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,204,000 after buying an additional 44,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Regions Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,378,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.27.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In related news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total value of $1,036,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,569 shares in the company, valued at $505,635.82. This trade represents a 67.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of Regions Financial stock opened at $29.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.74 and a 12 month high of $29.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.27.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Regions Financial

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.