Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.9063.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on RF shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $31.00 price target on Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, January 19th.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF opened at $25.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.75. Regions Financial has a 12-month low of $17.74 and a 12-month high of $31.53.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Regions Financial will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is 46.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Regions Financial

In other news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total transaction of $1,036,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,569 shares in the company, valued at $505,635.82. This trade represents a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RF. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial in the second quarter worth about $25,000. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SouthState Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 94.1% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Regions Financial by 91.5% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,166 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Regions Financial

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.