Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Stock Rating Lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) was downgraded by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $31.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 12.26% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on RF. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Regions Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Regions Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.27.

Regions Financial Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE RF opened at $27.62 on Monday. Regions Financial has a 1 year low of $17.74 and a 1 year high of $29.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $24.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.80 and a 200 day moving average of $26.03.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Regions Financial had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Regions Financial will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 12.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RF. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,152 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 76,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 22,216 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 263,612 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,538,000 after purchasing an additional 19,643 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Regions Financial by 1,211.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 331,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,785,000 after purchasing an additional 305,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Regions Financial by 80.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 20,006 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,901 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.39% of the company’s stock.

About Regions Financial

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a U.S. bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services. Its primary banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, serves retail and commercial customers through a combination of branch and ATM networks, digital channels and relationship-based delivery. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, and payment and treasury services.

In addition to core banking, Regions offers wealth management, trust and brokerage services, insurance solutions, and capital markets capabilities to corporate and institutional clients.