Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $22.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Regions Financial traded as high as $21.08 and last traded at $21.04, with a volume of 8103524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.68.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Argus cut shares of Regions Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup upgraded Regions Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Regions Financial from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Regions Financial from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.28.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RF. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Regions Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 149,877 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,336,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 23.5% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 24,426 shares of the bank’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 4,648 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 929.9% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,070,728 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,834,000 after purchasing an additional 966,768 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 44.7% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 15,715 shares of the bank’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 4,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 41.7% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,505 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regions Financial Trading Up 1.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $18.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.71.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.09). Regions Financial had a return on equity of 14.50% and a net margin of 22.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. Regions Financial’s payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

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.