Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Stock Price Crosses Below Fifty Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Regions Financial shares dipped below their 50-day moving average of $28.34, trading as low as $28.03 before last changing hands at $28.325.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $31; seven analysts rate the stock Buy, ten Hold, and three Sell.
• The bank beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.73 versus $0.67), while revenue matched estimates at $1.99 billion. It also declared a $0.30 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.2% yield.

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.34 and traded as low as $28.03. Regions Financial shares last traded at $28.3250, with a volume of 8,325,155 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Regions Financial from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Brean Capital upgraded Regions Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Regions Financial Trading Down 0.3%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.01.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Regions Financial's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regions Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $236,756,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $219,068,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 75.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,358,969 shares of the bank's stock worth $348,936,000 after buying an additional 5,754,487 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Regions Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $163,654,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in Regions Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $99,190,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Regions Financial

Regions Financial Corporation NYSE: RF is a financial services company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Through its principal subsidiary, Regions Bank, the company provides banking and related financial services to consumers, businesses, institutions and governments.

Regions Bank offers checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, credit products, mortgages, treasury and cash-management services, investment and wealth-management solutions, and insurance-related services.

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