Regions Financial (RF) Competitors

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) and Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation and media sentiment.

Does the media refer more to FITB or RF?

In the previous week, Fifth Third Bancorp had 16 more articles in the media than Regions Financial. MarketBeat recorded 45 mentions for Fifth Third Bancorp and 29 mentions for Regions Financial. Regions Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat Fifth Third Bancorp's score of 0.43 indicating that Regions Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fifth Third Bancorp	17 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Regions Financial	16 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, FITB or RF?

Fifth Third Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regions Financial has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of FITB or RF?

83.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Regions Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Regions Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has better earnings & valuation, FITB or RF?

Fifth Third Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Regions Financial. Regions Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fifth Third Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fifth Third Bancorp	$13.28B	2.27	$2.31B	$3.22	14.15
Regions Financial	$9.37B	2.59	$1.89B	$2.15	12.65

Do analysts recommend FITB or RF?

Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $48.33, suggesting a potential upside of 6.09%. Regions Financial has a consensus price target of $27.47, suggesting a potential upside of 1.04%. Given Fifth Third Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Fifth Third Bancorp is more favorable than Regions Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fifth Third Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82
Regions Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.55

Is FITB or RF more profitable?

Regions Financial has a net margin of 21.81% compared to Fifth Third Bancorp's net margin of 17.97%. Fifth Third Bancorp's return on equity of 13.31% beat Regions Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fifth Third Bancorp	17.97%	13.31%	1.15%
Regions Financial	21.81%	13.08%	1.39%

Is FITB or RF a better dividend stock?

Fifth Third Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Fifth Third Bancorp pays out 46.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Regions Financial pays out 49.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Fifth Third Bancorp has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Regions Financial has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Summary

Fifth Third Bancorp beats Regions Financial on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.