Cantor Fitzgerald Initiates Coverage on Regions Financial (NYSE:RF)

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has initiated coverage on Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) with an "overweight" rating, indicating positive growth prospects for the bank's stock.
• Despite mixed ratings from other analysts, there is general consensus on a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $27.47, as recent reports showed improvements in earnings and revenue.
• Insider trading activity includes an EVP selling 30,000 shares, while a Director increased their position by purchasing 4,000 shares, highlighting differing perspectives on the stock's future performance.

Research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating on the bank's stock.

RF has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, July 21st. TD Cowen started coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Stephens increased their price target on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Regions Financial from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.47.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of RF stock opened at $27.04 on Tuesday. Regions Financial has a fifty-two week low of $17.74 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96. The stock has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 21.81%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Regions Financial will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $750,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 90,915 shares in the company, valued at $2,273,784.15. This represents a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Roger W. Jenkins purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $101,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,638.84. This trade represents a 167.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 44,211,562 shares of the bank's stock valued at $960,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,512 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,484,310 shares of the bank's stock valued at $740,511,000 after purchasing an additional 391,568 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,794,677 shares of the bank's stock valued at $557,370,000 after purchasing an additional 109,549 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,990,446 shares of the bank's stock valued at $456,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,521,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $246,790,000. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Regions Financial

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.