Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research 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 updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.9688.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RF. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Evercore lowered shares of Regions Financial from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $29.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Regions Financial Stock Down 0.8%

RF stock opened at $27.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.86. Regions Financial has a fifty-two week low of $17.74 and a fifty-two week high of $31.53.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Regions Financial will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 46.29%.

Regions Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. SouthState Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 94.1% during the 4th 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 period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.