Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Lifted to Outperform at Wedbush

Wedbush upgraded shares of Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Wedbush currently has $28.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price target of $23.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on RF. Bank of America raised their price target on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Regions Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.06.

Regions Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RF opened at $22.92 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $20.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.17. Regions Financial has a fifty-two week low of $13.72 and a fifty-two week high of $23.47.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Regions Financial will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. This is a boost from Regions Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Regions Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Regions Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 157.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Regions Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 75.6% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Regions Financial by 530.0% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

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.