Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Free Report) and Regions Financial (NYSE:RF – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Popular and Regions Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Popular | $4.44 billion | 2.14 | $833.16 million | $12.32 | 11.57 |
| Regions Financial | $9.61 billion | 2.64 | $2.16 billion | $2.29 | 12.82 |
Risk and Volatility
Popular has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regions Financial has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
87.3% of Popular shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Regions Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Popular shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Regions Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Popular and Regions Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Popular | 18.75% | 13.87% | 1.10% |
| Regions Financial | 22.44% | 12.55% | 1.37% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Popular and Regions Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Popular | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Regions Financial | 3 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2.18 |
Popular currently has a consensus target price of $156.55, suggesting a potential upside of 9.85%. Regions Financial has a consensus target price of $29.84, suggesting a potential upside of 1.65%. Given Popular’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Popular is more favorable than Regions Financial.
Dividends
Popular pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Popular pays out 24.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Regions Financial pays out 46.3% 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. Popular has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Regions Financial has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Regions Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
About Popular
Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial multi-family, commercial real estate, and residential mortgage loans; consumer loans, including personal loans, credit cards, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, and other loans to individual borrowers; construction loans; and lease financing comprising automobile loans/leases. In addition, the company provides investment banking, auto and equipment leasing and financing, broker-dealer, and insurance services; debit cards; and online banking services. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
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.
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