Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Downgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on RF. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Regions Financial from $24.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.86.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RF stock opened at $23.99 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.86. Regions Financial has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $24.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $21.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.17.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) 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 return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 18.91%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Regions Financial’s revenue was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Regions Financial will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.35%.

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial during the first quarter worth $26,000. American National Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of 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 grew its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 157.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Regions Financial by 75.6% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 530.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.