Brokerages Set Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) Target Price at $29.97

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.9688.

Several brokerages have issued reports on RF. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Regions Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore lowered shares of Regions Financial from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th.

Regions Financial Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $27.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Regions Financial has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $31.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.69 and a 200 day moving average of $26.90.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.29%.

Regions Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Regions Financial news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total value of $1,036,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,635.82. The trade was a 67.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the second quarter worth $25,000. SouthState Bank Corp grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank bought a new stake in Regions Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 91.5% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,166 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 260.4% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

About Regions Financial

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a U.S. bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services. Its primary banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, serves retail and commercial customers through a combination of branch and ATM networks, digital channels and relationship-based delivery. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, and payment and treasury services.

In addition to core banking, Regions offers wealth management, trust and brokerage services, insurance solutions, and capital markets capabilities to corporate and institutional clients.