The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Holdings in Regions Financial Corporation $RF

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,833,878 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 55,109 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $55,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 2,881.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,003,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,225,293,000 after purchasing an additional 35,762,549 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Regions Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $254,564,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Regions Financial by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,836,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $618,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,312,449 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $236,756,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $219,068,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on RF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens assumed coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.29.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:RF opened at $30.14 on Friday. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $22.70 and a 12 month high of $32.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.87 and its 200 day moving average is $28.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

Regions Financial Profile

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a financial services company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Through its principal subsidiary, Regions Bank, the company provides banking and related financial services to consumer, commercial and institutional customers.

Regions Bank offers checking and savings accounts, consumer loans, credit cards, mortgages, home equity products and other personal banking services. Its commercial and corporate offerings include business loans, treasury management, equipment financing, capital markets services and other solutions for companies, municipalities and institutions.