Regions Financial Stock Falters After Quarterly Report
Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) is down 4.1% to trade at $10.36 at last check, after the bank reported higher-than-anticipated revenue, but a loss of 25 cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter -- far below the anticipated profits of eight cents per share. The company continues to offer financial assistance to customers who are experiencing coronavirus-related hardships, and President and CEO John Turner stated that "by focusing on our customers and the things we can control, we will deliver sustainable, long-term performance for our shareholders."
On the charts, RF is contending with familiar resistance at the 10-day moving average, a trendline that looks to be transitioning into support mid-week. Though still holding on to a modest gain for the week, the equity is remains down around 39% year-to-date.
Analysts are looking hesitant on RF, with 10 of the 19 in coverage sporting a "buy" or better, nine at a "hold," and zero at a "sell." Meanwhile, the consensus 12-month price target of $12.85 is a 24% premium to current levels.
In the options pits today, put volume is running in the 95th percentile of their annual range, with the expiring July 11 put, most popular. This appetite for puts is nothing new, per RF's put/call volume ratio of 0.71 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks in the 91% of its annual range. This shows that while calls have outnumbered puts on a regular basis, this penchant for long puts is unusually high.
