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

Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.67.

RF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens upgraded Regions Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Regions Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Compass Point increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

RF opened at $23.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Regions Financial has a 1-year low of $17.72 and a 1-year high of $27.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.88.

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

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regions Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 122.9% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth $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 last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Regions Financial during the third quarter worth $37,000. 79.39% of the stock is 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.