Morgan Stanley Cuts Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Price Target to $34.00

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $37.00 to $34.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the bank’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 30.39% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on RF. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Brean Capital initiated coverage on Regions Financial in a report on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Regions Financial from $29.00 to $31.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.91.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF stock traded up $0.84 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.08. The stock had a trading volume of 5,781,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,269,586. Regions Financial has a twelve month low of $17.74 and a twelve month high of $31.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.74. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.04). Regions Financial had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Regions Financial will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 12.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Regions Financial news, EVP William D. Ritter sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.78, for a total transaction of $1,036,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,635.82. This trade represents a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Regions Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. United Community Bank purchased a new position in Regions Financial in the third quarter valued at $30,000. SouthState Bank Corp raised its stake in Regions Financial by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Regions Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 91.5% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,166 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.