Natixis Increases Stock Holdings in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Natixis grew its holdings in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 425.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,575 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 60,394 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RF. LBP AM SA grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 149.4% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 730,614 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,184,000 after purchasing an additional 437,691 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,965,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,247,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 263,131 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,220,000 after acquiring an additional 99,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Regions Financial by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,479,865 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,806,000 after acquiring an additional 250,729 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Regions Financial stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, reaching $20.28. 6,572,572 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,096,083. The company has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01. Regions Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $17.72 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm's 50-day moving average is $21.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.46.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 12.83%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Regions Financial news, Director Joia M. Johnson acquired 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.18 per share, for a total transaction of $48,714.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,353.48. This represents a 15.15 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reduced their target price on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.53.

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.