Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $27.98 and last traded at $27.8950, with a volume of 2118972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on RF shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 price objective on Regions Financial in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Regions Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $27.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.21.

Regions Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.23.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 22.49%. Analysts forecast that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Regions Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.70%.

Regions Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Regions Financial by 1.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,484,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $740,511,000 after purchasing an additional 391,568 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Regions Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,794,677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $557,370,000 after purchasing an additional 109,549 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 52.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,523,714 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $357,417,000 after acquiring an additional 4,679,285 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $246,790,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Regions Financial by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,010,267 shares of the bank’s stock worth $198,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,347 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.