Regions Financial Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:RF)

Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 19,223 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 822% compared to the average daily volume of 2,084 call options.

Regions Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE RF opened at $27.26 on Friday. Regions Financial has a 52 week low of $16.51 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.16.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 18.78%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Regions Financial will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RF shares. Argus upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Regions Financial from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Regions Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Regions Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RF. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Regions Financial by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,729 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Regions Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 24,928 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Regions Financial by 1.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 42,346 shares of the bank’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Regions Financial by 2.4% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,845 shares of the bank’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in Regions Financial by 5.9% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 9,768 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.