Regions Financial Corp First Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Regions Financial Corp (NYSE:RF) will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. Regions Financial provides a range of banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers through its subsidiaries.

Regions Financial Corp Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is for profit of 8 cents per share, a rise of 700% from the company’s actual earnings for the year-ago quarter. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved up from 6 cents. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved up. It has risen from 7 cents during the last month. For the year, analysts are projecting net income of 48 cents per share, a rise of more than twofold from last year.

Past Earnings Performance: Last quarter, the company beat estimates by 2 cents, coming in at profit of 9 cents a share versus the estimate of net income of 7 cents a share. It marked the fourth straight quarter of beating estimates.

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Wall St. Revenue Expectations: Analysts predict a decline of 21.6% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $1.34 billion.

Analyst Ratings: Analysts seem relatively indifferent about Regions with 15 of 21 analysts surveyed maintaining a hold rating.

A Look Back: In the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, the company swung to a loss of $548 million (48 cents a share) from a profit of $89 million (4 cents) a year earlier, but beat analyst expectations. Revenue fell 67% to $774 million from $2.35 billion.

Key Stats:

On the top line, the company is hoping to use this earnings announcement to snap a string of four-straight quarters of revenue decreases. Revenue fell 4.1% in the first quarter of the last fiscal year, 3.6% in second quarter of the last fiscal year and 5.1% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year and then fell again in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year of the last fiscal year.

Stock Price Performance: Between January 23, 2012 and April 18, 2012, the stock price rose $1.30 (26.5%), from $4.91 to $6.21. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between November 1, 2011 and November 8, 2011, when shares rose for six straight days, increasing 18.5% (+68 cents) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between May 17, 2011 and May 24, 2011 when shares fell for six straight days, dropping 6.7% (-48 cents) over that span.

(Company fundamentals by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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