Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.67.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on RF shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Regions Financial from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Compass Point upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

Regions Financial Price Performance

NYSE:RF opened at $23.85 on Friday. Regions Financial has a 52-week low of $17.42 and a 52-week high of $27.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.19 and a 200 day moving average of $23.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The business’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Regions Financial will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RF. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,485,987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,306,813,000 after purchasing an additional 7,791,399 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Regions Financial by 575.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,705,273 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452,956 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Regions Financial by 13.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,625,734 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $201,238,000 after buying an additional 1,014,706 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,252,693 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $285,562,000 after buying an additional 979,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,786,933 shares of the bank’s stock worth $648,269,000 after buying an additional 816,226 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Company 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.