OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) & Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) Financial Survey

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) and Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OceanFirst Financial	16.21%	6.65%	0.80%
Regions Financial	22.66%	14.50%	1.43%

Risk and Volatility

OceanFirst Financial has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regions Financial has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares OceanFirst Financial 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
OceanFirst Financial	$641.60 million	1.51	$104.03 million	$1.70	9.65
Regions Financial	$9.15 billion	2.11	$2.07 billion	$2.09	10.07

Regions Financial has higher revenue and earnings than OceanFirst Financial. OceanFirst 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.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.0% of OceanFirst Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Regions Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of OceanFirst Financial 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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

OceanFirst Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. OceanFirst Financial pays out 47.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Regions Financial pays out 45.9% 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 3 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for OceanFirst Financial and Regions Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OceanFirst Financial	0	3	2	0	2.40
Regions Financial	1	11	6	0	2.28

OceanFirst Financial currently has a consensus target price of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.88%. Regions Financial has a consensus target price of $20.28, suggesting a potential downside of 3.60%. Given OceanFirst Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe OceanFirst Financial is more favorable than Regions Financial.

Summary

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

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. that provides community banking services to retail and commercial customers. It accepts money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest-bearing accounts, and time deposits, that includes brokered deposits to retail, government, and business customers. The company also offers commercial real estate, multi-family, land loans, construction, and commercial and industrial loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans that are secured by one-to-four family residences; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans and lines of credit, student loans, overdraft line of credit, loans on savings accounts, and other consumer loans. In addition, it invests in mortgage-backed securities, securities issued by the U.S. Government and agencies, corporate securities, and other investments. Further, the company offers bankcard, trust and asset management services; and bank owned life insurance products. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Red Bank, New Jersey.

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.