Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.53.

RF has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Stephens dropped their target price on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Transactions at Regions Financial

In related news, Director Joia M. Johnson bought 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.18 per share, for a total transaction of $48,714.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $370,353.48. The trade was a 15.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $675,645,000 after buying an additional 1,909,162 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Regions Financial by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,028,497 shares of the bank's stock valued at $540,284,000 after acquiring an additional 403,283 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 17,053,457 shares of the bank's stock valued at $401,097,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,645 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Regions Financial by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,468,674 shares of the bank's stock worth $363,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $279,103,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Regions Financial Stock Down 0.7 %

RF stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.16. 7,438,082 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,092,838. The stock has a market cap of $19.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.97. Regions Financial has a fifty-two week low of $17.72 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $20.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Regions Financial will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Regions Financial's payout ratio is 48.08%.

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.