Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.41.

RF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up previously from $28.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Regions Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $26.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Argus upgraded Regions Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

Regions Financial Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Regions Financial stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.75. The company had a trading volume of 6,824,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,862,652. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.19. Regions Financial has a fifty-two week low of $17.18 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 18.78%. Regions Financial's revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Regions Financial will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.50%.

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 1,856.7% during the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 1,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Regions Financial by 157.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Regions Financial by 530.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

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.