Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Stock

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Free Report) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $22.00 to $27.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the bank's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.15.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $24.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,691,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,368,228. Regions Financial has a 1 year low of $17.74 and a 1 year 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 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $22.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average is $22.00 and its 200-day moving average is $22.35.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) 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 return on equity of 13.04% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is currently 48.08%.

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RF. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 637.3% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,224 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 76.6% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,876 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the period. 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.