Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,087,697 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,125 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $25,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 1,856.7% in the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 157.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 530.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE RF opened at $24.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.20 and a 200-day moving average of $22.77. Regions Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $17.42 and a 52-week high of $27.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 12.60%. Regions Financial’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is 56.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on RF. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised Regions Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens raised shares of Regions Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.61.

Regions Financial Profile

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.