Yahoo Finance Regions Financial (RF) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Lag Estimates
Regions Financial Corporation’s RF first-quarter 2023 earnings per share of 62 cents have missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 65 cents. The bottom line improved from 55 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Shares of RF gained a mere 0.5% in the pre-market trading on the lower-than-expected results. A full-day trading session will depict a clearer picture.
Results have been aided by a rise in net interest income (NII) and average loan balances. However, increasing expenses and provision for credit losses affected the bottom line.
Net income available to common shareholders was $588 million, up year over year from $524 million.
Revenues Improve, Expenses Rise
Total quarterly revenues were $1.95 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.96 billion. Nonetheless, the top line rose 22% from the year-ago quarter’s reported number.
Quarterly NII was $1.41 billion, up 39.6% year over year. Also, the net interest margin rose 137 basis points to 4.22%.
Non-interest income dipped 8.6% year over year to $534 million. The downside mainly resulted from lower service charges on deposit accounts, capital markets income, mortgage income and other income.
Non-interest expenses rose 10.1% year over year to $1.02 billion. The rise was due to an increase in salaries and employee benefits costs, equipment and software expenses, FDIC insurance assessment costs, and branch consolidation, property and equipment charges.
The efficiency ratio was 52.3% in the first quarter.
As of Mar 31, 2023, average loans increased 1.6% on a sequential basis to $92.27 billion. Moreover, total deposits were $129.04 billion, down 3% from the prior quarter.
Credit Quality Deteriorates
Non-performing assets (excluding 90+ past due), as a percentage of loans, foreclosed properties and non-performing loans held for sale were up to 0.58% from the prior-year quarter’s 0.39%.
Non-performing loans, excluding loans held for sale as a percentage of net loans, were 0.56%, up from 0.39% in the prior year. Annualized net charge-offs, as a percentage of average loans, were 0.35% compared with 0.21% in the prior-year quarter. A provision for credit losses of $135 million was recorded in the quarter against $36 million of benefit in the prior-year quarter.
Capital Ratios Mixed
As of Mar 31, 2023, the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio and the Tier 1 capital ratio were estimated at 9.8% and 11.2%, respectively, compared with 9.4% and 10.8% recorded in the year-earlier quarter.
Our Viewpoint
Regions Financial put up a decent performance in the first quarter on higher loan balances and rising interest rates. RF’s attractive core business and revenue-diversification strategies will likely yield stellar earnings in the upcoming period.
Though a fall in fee income is concerning, we are optimistic about the bank’s branch-consolidation plan. Nevertheless, expense pressure is expected to prevail.
Regions Financial Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Regions Financial Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Regions Financial Corporation Quote
Currently, Regions Financial carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other Banks
U.S. Bancorp’s USB first-quarter 2023 earnings per share (excluding merger and integration-related charges) of $1.16 handily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.13 per share. It grew 17.2% from the prior-year quarter.
USB’s results benefited from an increase in NII, supported by higher interest rates. However, a decline in non-interest income (largely on lower mortgage banking income) and higher expenses were the headwinds. Also, USB’s credit quality deteriorated in the reported quarter.
Citizens Financial Group CFG reported first-quarter 2023 earnings per share of $1, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11. Nonetheless, the bottom line rose from 93 cents in the year-ago quarter.
CFG’s results reflect NII growth on an increase in interest-earning assets. However, an escalation in expenses, lower non-interest income and a rise in provisions were the undermining factors for CFG.
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