1,833,878 Shares in Regions Financial Corporation $RF Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,833,878 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $55,383,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,564,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,836,163 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $618,860,000 after buying an additional 9,312,449 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 75.7% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,358,969 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $348,936,000 after buying an additional 5,754,487 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $99,190,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in Regions Financial by 286.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,022,031 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,505 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RF. Robert W. Baird reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.24.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.4%

RF stock opened at $30.74 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.70 and a 12 month high of $32.47.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 12.88%. Regions Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is currently 43.27%.

Regions Financial Company 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.