Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.2353.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RF shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, July 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Regions Financial by 2,881.1% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,003,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,225,293,000 after acquiring an additional 35,762,549 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth $254,564,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,836,163 shares of the bank’s stock worth $618,860,000 after purchasing an additional 9,312,449 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $236,756,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the second quarter valued at about $219,068,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of RF opened at $29.32 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.78. Regions Financial has a 12-month low of $22.70 and a 12-month high of $32.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.99.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 23.33%.The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Regions Financial will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is 43.27%.

Regions Financial Company Profile

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.