RF - Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE Stock)

[BadThad]

Just starting some DD on RF.

Regions Financial Corporation (Regions) is a financial holding company that operates throughout the South, Midwest and Texas. The Company provides traditional commercial, retail and mortgage banking services, as well as other financial services in the fields of investment banking, asset management, trust, mutual funds, securities brokerage, insurance and other specialty financing. Regions conducts its banking operations through Regions Bank, an Alabama chartered commercial bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System. The Company operates in three segments: General Banking/Treasury, Investment Banking, Brokerage and Trust and Insurance. As of December 31, 2008, Regions operated approximately 2,300 automated teller machines (ATMs) and 1,900 banking offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

RF - Regions Financial Corporation - Google Finance

Current Stock Price: $4.50
52wk Range $2.35 - 19.80

[BadThad]

From the stress test results 07MAY:

The other five requiring capital are: Regions Financial Corp. of Birmingham, Ala., needs to raise $2.5 billion;

From 20May:

Regions Financial Corporation announced that it has commenced public offerings of $1 billion of its common shares and $250 million of new mandatory convertible preferred shares. The underwriters in the cash offers will have a 30 day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the offered amounts of common shares and mandatory convertible preferred shares, as the case may be, from the Company. Goldman, Sachs & Co., and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. will serve as joint bookrunning managers for the Cash Offers and Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc., will be lead manager.

[Theboundbook]

Like this one alot... Looks like the bottom has come and gone, but its still low enough to cash in on this medium time holder IMO (1 -3 yrs)

[BadThad]

I'm waiting until the dilution is over, definately one to watch though.

[BadThad]

Stock down over 16% today to $3.39 (52wk low $2.35). Consensus was -0.22 and actual -0.28. Investors do not like the earnings report. I may play this for a bounce:

* Second loss in three quarters

* Increase to reserves more than doubles from Q1

* Homebuilders, Florida, condominiums weigh on credit

* Shares fall 6 pct premarket (Recasts; adds financial details throughout, share price)

NEW YORK, July 21 (Reuters) - Regions Financial Corp (RF.N), the large U.S. Southeast regional bank, said on Tuesday it had a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss due to mounting losses on commercial and real estate loans.

The second-quarter net loss applicable to common shareholders was $244 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with a profit of $206 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier.

The loss was its second in three quarters. Excluding items, the loss was 48 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates, while analysts, on average, expected a loss of 23 cents per share.

Its stock fell 6 percent to $3.80 in premarket trading. Through Monday, the shares were down 49 percent this year, while the KBW Bank Index .BKX was down 16 percent.

Regions, which took $3.5 billion from the U.S. bailout program, has been hit particularly hard by the nation's housing and credit crisis.

The bank set aside $912 million for credit losses, triple the year-earlier amount, while net charge-offs more than doubled to $491 million. The increase to reserves more than doubled from the first quarter.

Regions, based in Birmingham, Alabama, said its most stressed portfolios included residential homebuilder loans, Florida home equity loans and condominium loans, which together are 8 percent of the total. It said the recession is also pressuring its retail and multi-family commercial real estate loans.

Chief Executive Dowd Ritter tried to downplay the losses, saying deposits grew 3 percent in the quarter, and net interest margin edged only slightly lower. "We continue to proactively de-risk our balance sheet," he said.

Results included charges of $64 million to bolster a federal deposit insurance program, and $53 million tied to the bank bailout program.

Regions is one of 19 large banks that underwent government "stress tests" and was ordered to raise $2.5 billion in capital, one of 10 banks found to have a shortfall.

Its shortfall was among the largest identified by the government relative to the bank's size and market value.

Unlike many rivals, Regions has a limited ability to raise capital without using shares or selling assets.

As a result, many analysts believe it may sell its Morgan Keegan asset management unit, which made $30 million in the quarter. Morgan Keegan has been hurt by lawsuits and arbitrations over investments in risky securities made by some mutual funds thought to be relatively safe.

Regions has $142.8 billion in assets and 1,900 branches in 16 U.S. states across the South, Midwest and Texas. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Jeffrey Benkoe)

[BadThad]

S&P hangs with RF:

S&P MAINTAINS BUY OPINION ON SHARES OF REGIONS FINANCIAL
(Standard & Poor's)
Q2 operating loss is $0.28 vs. a gain of $0.39, $0.06 below our estimate. The shares are down sharply today, likely a result of a 59% sequential increase in non performing loans (NPLs). Although NPLs are troubling, we think concerns are already reflected in the stock price, as the shares are trading at roughly 0.45X tangible book value (TBV). We think cumulative losses for '09 and '10 will peak at $5.1 billion, resulting in TBV of $6.00. We are increasing our '09 EPS loss estimate $0.30 to $0.74 but maintain our $6 target price, at 1.0X our '10 TBV estimate.

[BadThad]

Rolling the dice baby, I'm in at 3.40.

[BadThad]

Looks like the selling is done for now, hit a wall at 3.39.

[BadThad]

BOING....here comes the bounce baby....$3.64 now.

[davecash77]

Wow after watching sqawk this morning and seeing WFC and MS report earnings and watching the bid/ask price just fall off the table on most banks I thought we were in fgor a rough day..So far so good