Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

RF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.80.

Regions Financial Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Regions Financial stock opened at $21.47 on Friday. Regions Financial has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $27.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.59. The firm has a market cap of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. Regions Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regions Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 637.3% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,224 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 2,354.9% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

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.