Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Regions Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold”, based on coverage from 19 firms. The average 12-month price target is about $30.06.
• The company reported Q1 earnings of $0.62 per share, slightly beating estimates, while revenue came in at $1.87 billion, below expectations but up 5% year over year.
• Regions Financial also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.265 per share, equivalent to a 4.0% annualized yield. Insiders recently sold shares, while institutional investors continue to hold a large majority of the stock.

Shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.0625.

A number of equities analysts have commented on RF shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Regions Financial

In other news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $195,760.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Regions Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RF. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,152 shares of the bank's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in Regions Financial by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 76,797 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 22,216 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Regions Financial by 0.7% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 71,717 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,687,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Regions Financial by 81.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,677 shares of the bank's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 5,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Regions Financial by 5.0% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 141,155 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of RF stock opened at $26.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $26.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.17. Regions Financial has a one year low of $20.79 and a one year high of $31.53.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 23.13% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Regions Financial will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

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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