Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.3125.

RF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st.

Regions Financial Trading Up 1.5%

RF stock opened at $30.97 on Friday. Regions Financial has a twelve month low of $17.74 and a twelve month high of $31.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.39.

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

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.29%.

Regions Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Regions Financial

In related news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total value of $1,036,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,635.82. The trade was a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $246,790,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Regions Financial by 52.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,523,714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $357,417,000 after acquiring an additional 4,679,285 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 286.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,022,031 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,505 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Regions Financial by 151.2% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,939,544 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371,048 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 620.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,563,492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207,585 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Company Profile

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.