J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Purchases 41,851 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation $RF

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its holdings in Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) by 295.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 56,025 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,851 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Regions Financial were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,152 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 76,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 22,216 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the second quarter worth $325,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Regions Financial by 5.7% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,148 shares of the bank’s stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares during the period. Finally, Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 20,240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,635.82. This trade represents a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RF has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore ISI downgraded Regions Financial from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.27.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE RF opened at $27.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $24.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.16. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $29.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

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

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.