Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys New Holdings in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 66,759 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,000. Regions Financial comprises about 0.6% of Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in Regions Financial by 122.9% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 2,354.9% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,252 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on RF shares. Compass Point increased 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.95.

Regions Financial Price Performance

NYSE RF opened at $18.64 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.88. Regions Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $17.72 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. Analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joia M. Johnson purchased 2,300 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.18 per share, with a total value of $48,714.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,353.48. The trade was a 15.15 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders purchased 3,868 shares of company stock valued at $86,722 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.