Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Regions Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.15.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.5%

RF stock traded up $0.13 during midday 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 8,375,667. Regions Financial has a 52 week low of $17.74 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The stock has a market cap of $22.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.98. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $21.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.36.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.84 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 13.04%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Regions Financial will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Regions Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $279,103,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,990,446 shares of the bank's stock worth $456,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,521,772 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $53,018,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,092,742 shares of the bank's stock worth $675,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,909,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,522,612 shares of the bank's stock worth $129,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907,121 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Regions Financial

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.