Analyzing Regions Financial (RF) and The Competition

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) is one of 919 publicly-traded companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Regions Financial to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Regions Financial and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Regions Financial	23.97%	13.43%	1.45%
Regions Financial Competitors	15.65%	9.44%	0.93%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Regions Financial and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Regions Financial	$7.67 billion	$2.16 billion	11.36
Regions Financial Competitors	$297.20 billion	$2.42 billion	21.29

Regions Financial’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Regions Financial. Regions Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility & Risk

Regions Financial has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regions Financial’s rivals have a beta of 0.61, suggesting that their average stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Regions Financial and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Regions Financial	3	10	7	0	2.20
Regions Financial Competitors	7484	30232	27812	1478	2.35

Regions Financial currently has a consensus target price of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.04%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.85%. Given Regions Financial’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Regions Financial has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Dividends

Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Regions Financial pays out 47.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 9.0% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Regions Financial has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Regions Financial lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

79.4% of Regions Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Regions Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Regions Financial rivals beat Regions Financial on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

About Regions Financial

Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services. It serves corporate, middle market, and commercial real estate developers and investors. The Consumer Bank segment provides consumer banking products and services related to residential first mortgages, home equity lines and loans, consumer credit cards, and other consumer loans, as well as deposits. The Wealth Management segment offers credit related products, and retirement and savings solutions; and trust and investment management, asset management, and estate planning services to individuals, businesses, governmental institutions, and non-profit entities. It also provides investment and insurance products; low-income housing tax credit corporate fund syndication services; and other specialty financing services. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.