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

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Regions Financial, with 10 hold, six buy, and four sell ratings among 20 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $32.24, versus the stock’s reported opening price of $31.01.
• Regions Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.68 EPS versus the $0.63 consensus and $1.95 billion in revenue versus $1.94 billion expected.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share from $0.27, implying a $1.20 annualized payout and a 3.9% yield; institutional investors own 79.39% of the stock.

Shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.2353.

RF has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $31.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Regions Financial from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Friday, July 17th.

Insider Transactions at Regions Financial

In other Regions Financial news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RF. Tema ETFs LLC raised its stake in Regions Financial by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the bank's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the second quarter worth about $1,806,000. First Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the second quarter worth about $391,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 5.3% during the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 9,038 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of RF stock opened at $31.01 on Friday. Regions Financial has a fifty-two week low of $22.70 and a fifty-two week high of $32.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 23.33%.The business's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Regions Financial will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is 43.27%.

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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