Regions Financial Corporation $RF Stock Position Increased by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 40,672.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,648 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,590 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in RF. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 163.2% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,058 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on RF shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Evercore lowered shares of Regions Financial from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $27.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.31.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RF opened at $30.97 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $31.17.

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

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.29%.

Regions Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total transaction of $1,036,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,569 shares in the company, valued at $505,635.82. The trade was a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.