Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to “Outperform” Rating

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $28.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price target of $27.00.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on RF. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Regions Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.45.

Regions Financial Trading Down 1.3 %

Regions Financial stock opened at $23.56 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. Regions Financial has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $24.47.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 18.78%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Regions Financial will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 56.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RF. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 6.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,822,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,384,000 after acquiring an additional 171,280 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $459,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $204,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Regions Financial by 6.0% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 25,359 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 49.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 479,770 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,847,000 after buying an additional 158,215 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.