Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Lowered to "Sell" at StockNews.com

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

RF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $21.51.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of RF traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $23.00. 6,550,709 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,011,435. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.07. Regions Financial has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $23.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. Regions Financial had a net margin of 18.91% and a return on equity of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Regions Financial will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a boost from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regions Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Regions Financial by 1,620.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 93,818 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 88,365 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Regions Financial by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 127,198 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 32,855 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 158.0% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,005 shares of the bank's stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 19,600 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 217,745 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,246,000 after acquiring an additional 16,479 shares in 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.