Comparing Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) and Truxton (OTCMKTS:TRUX)

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) and Truxton (OTCMKTS:TRUX) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Regions Financial has a beta of 1, meaning that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Truxton has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Regions Financial and Truxton”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Regions Financial	$9.61 billion	2.58	$2.16 billion	$2.40	12.09
Truxton	$92.29 million	3.00	$21.48 million	$8.04	11.92

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Regions Financial and Truxton, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Regions Financial	3	8	7	0	2.22
Truxton	0	0	0	0	0.00

Regions Financial presently has a consensus price target of $30.73, suggesting a potential upside of 5.95%. Given Regions Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Regions Financial is more favorable than Truxton.

Dividends

Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Truxton pays an annual dividend of $3.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Regions Financial pays out 44.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Truxton pays out 43.8% 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. Regions Financial has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Truxton is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Regions Financial and Truxton’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Regions Financial	23.13%	12.70%	1.40%
Truxton	24.00%	N/A	N/A

Summary

Regions Financial beats Truxton on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Truxton

Truxton Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various banking, investment management, and trust administration services to individuals, businesses, and charitable institutions in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including demand, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides lending products, such as residential and commercial real estate mortgages, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, commercial and industrial loans, operating lines of credit, and loans to individual. In addition, the company offers strategic and capital advisory services, business banking, and treasury management services; and insurance products. The company was formerly known as NBT Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Truxton Corporation in May 2013. Truxton Corporation was founded in 2004 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.