Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $24.47 and last traded at $23.89, with a volume of 1472890 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush upgraded Regions Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $28.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Regions Financial from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.86.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.86.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 18.91%. Regions Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is 54.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 39.9% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 621,472 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,499,000 after purchasing an additional 177,155 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Regions Financial by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,327 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 46.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 23,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 7,378 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 2.2% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 35,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $821,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its position in Regions Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 73,117 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.