Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.86.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush upgraded Regions Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Regions Financial from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Regions Financial Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Regions Financial stock opened at $23.82 on Friday. Regions Financial has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $24.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.65 and a 200 day moving average of $20.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.17.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 18.91%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Regions Financial will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is currently 54.35%.

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American National Bank & Trust raised its stake in Regions Financial by 1,856.7% during the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 1,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 157.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Regions Financial by 75.6% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 530.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Regions Financial Company Profile

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.