Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Announces $0.27 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• $0.265 quarterly dividend announced (record date June 1, payable July 1) implying a 3.8% yield; Regions has raised its dividend annually for 12 consecutive years and the payout ratio (~43%) indicates the dividend is covered by earnings.
• Last quarter Regions missed estimates with EPS of $0.57 (vs. $0.61 expected) and revenue of $1.92B (slightly below forecasts) though revenue rose 5.8% year-over-year; analysts expect roughly $2.26 EPS for the current year and about $2.48 next year, which would continue to support the dividend.
• Shares trade near $27.88 with a PE of 12.18 and market cap around $24.1B; analyst coverage is mixed (6 Buy, 9 Hold, 3 Sell) with an average price target of $29.75 (consensus: Hold).

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.265 per share by the bank on Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st.

Regions Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Regions Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 43.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Regions Financial to earn $2.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.7%.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE RF opened at $27.88 on Thursday. Regions Financial has a 12-month low of $18.83 and a 12-month high of $31.53. The company has a market capitalization of $24.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50-day moving average is $27.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.76.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Regions Financial will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on RF. Evercore downgraded shares of Regions Financial from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $27.00 to $29.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Regions Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $31.50 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.75.

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.

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