Analyzing Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN) & Regions Financial (NYSE:RF)

Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN) and Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Benchmark Bankshares has a beta of 0.13, meaning that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regions Financial has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Benchmark Bankshares	$83.37 million	2.07	$19.84 million	$4.46	8.66
Regions Financial	$9.61 billion	2.37	$2.16 billion	$2.40	11.11

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.2% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Regions Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.0% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Regions Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Benchmark Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Benchmark Bankshares pays out 21.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Regions Financial pays out 44.2% 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 raised 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.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Benchmark Bankshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
Regions Financial	3	9	7	0	2.21

Regions Financial has a consensus target price of $30.06, suggesting a potential upside of 12.79%. Given Regions Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Regions Financial is more favorable than Benchmark Bankshares.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Benchmark Bankshares	23.80%	N/A	N/A
Regions Financial	23.13%	12.70%	1.40%

Summary

Regions Financial beats Benchmark Bankshares on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Benchmark Bankshares

Benchmark Bankshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Benchmark Community Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, saving, commercial services, and youth accounts. Its loan products include personal, mortgage, other real estate, business, auto, and student loans. The company also offers credit and debit cards; wealth management services comprising financial solutions, financial and retirement planning, and portfolio management, as well as estate, charitable giving, and trust services; and reorder checks, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, bill pay, and internet and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Kenbridge, Virginia.

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.