Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $22.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Regions Financial traded as high as $21.08 and last traded at $21.04, with a volume of 8103524 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.68.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $15.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.28.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Regions Financial by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Regions Financial by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,477 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

Regions Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $18.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 22.66% and a return on equity of 14.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Regions Financial Co. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

Regions Financial Company Profile

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.