Before the financial crisis hit in late 2008, the shares of Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) were trading as high as $34. But since then, the company has been range-bound at about $5 to $7. Yet for this year, the stock has had a nice ride, up a sizzling 47%.

So is this the start of a bull move? Or will Regions Financial continue to disappoint investors? To decide, let’s take a look at the pros and cons:

Pros

Regional Power. Founded in the early 1970s, Regions is now a major player in Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Alabama. In all, the company has $128 billion in assets and more than 1,700 branches.

Regions also has non-bank operations, such as Rebsamen Insurance (focused on commercial-property and casualty-insurance customers) and Regions Interstate Billing Service (a factoring service).

Better Financial Position. Regions has paid off its federal loans and has been making progress in improving its capital position. Besides reducing its cost structure and loan losses, the company has been paring off some of its assets. It recently sold off Morgan Keegan, a boutique brokerage and investment bank.

Buyout Potential. As Regions gets back to health, it should be an attractive target for a major bank, such as Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) or JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). The company has a solid footprint in its markets. Besides, there will likely be more consolidation in the banking sector because it will be tougher to generate organic growth.

Cons

Macro Economy. Unfortunately, the U.S. is showing signs of a slowdown. The a big drag has been the tumultuous situation in Europe. At the same time, Asia is also becoming an issue, especially China.

Interest Rates. Of course, they’re at rock-bottom levels, and this has become a big problem for the banking industry. Its core business is to make profits from the difference between rates on loans and deposits. Unfortunately, there are no signs that these margins will improve anytime soon.

Regulations.  The banking industry has always been heavily regulated. But since the financial crisis, the burdens have increased substantially. For a small bank such as Regions, the costs will have a material impact on the bottom line.

Verdict

All in all, Regions is getting back on track. Its financial situation is improving, and it should be able to find ways to further cut costs, which will mean higher margins.

Besides, the residential real estate market is improving. And yes, mortgage loans can be a very profitable business and should be a nice driver for Regions.

Even with the recent run-up in the stock price, Regions’ valuation is still reasonable, coming to 0.7 times book value.

So in light of all these factors, the pros outweigh the cons on the stock for now.

Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook, a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He is also the author of the upcoming book How to Create the Next Facebook: Seeing Your Startup Through, from Idea to IPO.  Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli or reach him via email. As of this writing, he did not own a position in any of the aforementioned securities.