Head-To-Head Contrast: Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) vs. BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN)

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

Dividends

Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. BayFirst Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Regions Financial pays out 49.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BayFirst Financial pays out -2.2% 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 increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. BayFirst Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Regions Financial	3	12	5	0	2.10
BayFirst Financial	1	0	0	0	1.00

Regions Financial currently has a consensus price target of $31.69, suggesting a potential upside of 17.23%. Given Regions Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Regions Financial is more favorable than BayFirst Financial.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.4% of Regions Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.9% of BayFirst Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Regions Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 56.6% of BayFirst Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Regions Financial has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BayFirst Financial has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Regions Financial	23.33%	12.88%	1.42%
BayFirst Financial	-80.74%	-101.15%	-4.83%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Regions Financial and BayFirst Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Regions Financial	$7.62 billion	3.02	$2.16 billion	$2.45	11.03
BayFirst Financial	$24.02 million	6.04	-$22.94 million	($14.88)	-0.36

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

Summary

Regions Financial beats BayFirst Financial on 13 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 BayFirst Financial

BayFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for BayFirst National Bank that provides community banking services for businesses and individuals. The company offers checking, savings, NOW, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement account; and safety deposit boxes. It also provides commercial real estate mortgages; construction and development, working capital, and business loans; auto, boat, and recreational vehicle loans; and residential mortgages, personal lines of credit, and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers mobile and online banking, treasury management, wire transfers, cash management, merchant processing, remote deposit capture, night depositor, online bill payment, courier, retail investment, ACH originations, and other services. It operates full-service banking centers in St. Petersburg, Seminole, Pinellas Park, Clearwater, Sarasota, Tampa, Belleair Bluffs, and Bradenton, Florida. The company was formerly known as First Home Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to BayFirst Financial Corp. in May 2021. BayFirst Financial Corp. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida.