Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $26.54 and last traded at $26.53, with a volume of 307050 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $26.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Regions Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Regions Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.94.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

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 market capitalization of $23.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.46 and a 200-day moving average of $21.50.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Regions Financial by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,786,933 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $648,269,000 after purchasing an additional 816,226 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 7.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,252,693 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,562,000 after buying an additional 979,597 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $201,238,000 after buying an additional 1,014,706 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,226,353 shares of the bank’s stock worth $191,921,000 after buying an additional 61,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 8.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,109,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,548,000 after buying an additional 241,838 shares in 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.