Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial (NYSE:RF – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

RF has been the subject of several other research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 in a report on Friday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 20th. They set a buy rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Regions Financial Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $17.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 7.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.22. Regions Financial has a 52-week low of $13.94 and a 52-week high of $24.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.53 and a 200-day moving average of $21.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 29.81% and a return on equity of 16.14%. On average, equities analysts predict that Regions Financial will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.24%.

Insider Transactions at Regions Financial

In related news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.42, for a total value of $304,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,136.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Regions Financial news, EVP C. Matthew Lusco sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.83, for a total transaction of $2,283,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 77,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,777,155.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William D. Ritter sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.42, for a total transaction of $304,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,136.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Regions Financial by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,452 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. now owns 98,318 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,324 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 1,951 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 141,756 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,658,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.87% of the company’s stock.

About Regions Financial

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Regions Financial Corp. operates as a bank holding company. It provides traditional commercial, retail and mortgage banking services, as well as other financial services in the fields of investment banking, asset management, trust, mutual funds, securities brokerage, insurance and other financing. The firm operates through the following segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, Wealth Management, and Other.