Allianz Asset Management GmbH Acquires 1,237,538 Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 247.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,738,571 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 1,237,538 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.19% of Regions Financial worth $40,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $6,281,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,267 shares of the bank's stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 24,928 shares of the bank's stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 23,946 shares of the bank's stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of RF stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $23.69. The stock had a trading volume of 3,172,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,812,301. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20. Regions Financial Co. has a one year low of $17.72 and a one year high of $27.96. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.95. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Compass Point boosted their price target on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens raised shares of Regions Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.67.

About Regions Financial

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.