Regions Financials shares look cheap - Barron's
May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. bank Regions Financial Corp has rebounded from the credit crisis of five years ago and the bank's shares look cheap with a healthy economy in its key markets, according to an article in the May 5 edition of Barron's.
Regions, the nation's 21st largest bank, has "cleaned up its problem loans, cut costs, and increased its presence in some thriving sectors of business lending," according to the article.
The stock has risen to about $10 in the past year, but "still has room to run," Barron's said, noting the shares trade at less than 90 percent of book value versus 130 percent for Regions' peer group.
John Crowley, a portfolio manager of the Eaton Vance Large Cap Value Fund, figures the shares are worth more than $13 apiece, some 30 percent above the current level, Barron's said.
Regions was created from a series of banking mergers in the South, Midwest and Texas.
Officials at Regions Financial were not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
