Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Lowered to Hold Rating by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) was downgraded by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on RF. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $27.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.27.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF stock opened at $27.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.03. 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 has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $29.25.

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

Regions Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 12.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 163,264 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,461 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 260.4% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in Regions Financial by 2,320.5% in the 4th quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 24,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 23,832 shares in the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Finally, Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Regions Financial by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

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.