Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $21.51.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Regions Financial stock opened at $22.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. Regions Financial has a 52 week low of $13.72 and a 52 week high of $23.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.55 and a 200-day moving average of $20.11.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 18.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Regions Financial will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Regions Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,704,755 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,281,118,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119,237 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Regions Financial by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 55,775,416 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,080,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,026 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Regions Financial by 7.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,252,693 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $285,562,000 after acquiring an additional 979,597 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,379,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Regions Financial by 1.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,707,381 shares of the bank’s stock worth $162,163,000 after purchasing an additional 103,529 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.