UPDATE: Wunderlich Securities Downgrades Regions Financial On 4Q EPS Miss

In a report published Wednesday, Wunderlich Securities analyst Kevin Reynolds downgraded the rating on Regions Financial Corp RF from Buy to Hold, and lowered the price target from $13.00 to $10.00. In the report, Wunderlich Securities noted, “We are downgrading shares of Regions Financial (RF) to Hold from Buy, as we lower our price target to $10 from $13. Regions' 4Q14 EPS fell short of expectations despite decent loan growth and a stable NIM. However, with a low-rate environment expected to dominate the 2015 landscape, RF will likely struggle to meaningfully improve performance, suggesting that progress has stalled. While RF shares are inexpensive relative to Regional Bank peers, valuation alone is not enough to warrant a Buy recommendation absent a catalyst to drive better growth and/or profitability. With this in mind, we are lowering our rating on RF shares to Hold, and we refocus our attention on small and mid-cap names that are better positioned to achieve above-average organic growth and/or accretive acquisitions.” Regions Financial closed on Tuesday at $8.74.