Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Price Target Lowered to $22.00 at Morgan Stanley

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $29.00 to $22.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the bank’s stock.

RF has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Compass Point boosted their price target on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.42.

Regions Financial Stock Up 9.1 %

Shares of NYSE RF opened at $20.01 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.74. Regions Financial has a 12 month low of $17.72 and a 12 month high of $27.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. Regions Financial’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Regions Financial will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is currently 51.55%.

Insider Activity at Regions Financial

In related news, Director Joia M. Johnson acquired 2,300 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.18 per share, for a total transaction of $48,714.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,353.48. This represents a 15.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have acquired 3,868 shares of company stock valued at $86,722 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Regions Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RF. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 122.9% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in Regions Financial by 2,354.9% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,252 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.