Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Regions Financial has a consensus “Hold” rating from 19 brokerages, with 4 sell, 9 hold, and 6 buy recommendations. The average 12-month price target is about $31.16.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: UBS and JPMorgan raised price targets, while DA Davidson downgraded the stock to neutral and cut its target. Some firms, including Wells Fargo and Robert W. Baird, remained cautious.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.62 per share, slightly beating estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.265, equal to a 3.4% annualized yield.

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.1562.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on RF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of Regions Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian R. Willman sold 7,014 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $195,760.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regions Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RF. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 94.1% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 91.5% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,166 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in Regions Financial by 260.4% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Regions Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS Group raised its price target on Regions Financial to $33 from $29, implying additional upside from current levels, while keeping a neutral rating. UBS price target raise on Regions Financial
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also increased its target to $31.50 from $29, signaling slightly better valuation expectations despite maintaining a neutral stance. JPMorgan price target raise on Regions Financial
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Regions Financial as a possible dividend stock pick, which may support sentiment but did not include any new fundamental catalyst. Zacks article on Regions Financial
• Negative Sentiment: DA Davidson downgraded Regions Financial to neutral from buy and trimmed its target to $33 from $35, suggesting less enthusiasm for the stock’s near-term upside. DA Davidson downgrade on Regions Financial
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Robert W. Baird both maintained cautious views, with Wells Fargo reiterating an underweight rating and Baird reaffirming underperform, reinforcing downside concerns among some analysts. Analyst caution on Regions Financial

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of Regions Financial stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.74. 540,565 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,813,819. 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 firm has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.00. Regions Financial has a 52 week low of $22.70 and a 52 week high of $31.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.03.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 23.13%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Regions Financial will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Regions Financial's payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

About Regions Financial

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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