First Busey (BUSE) Competitors

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk and community ranking.

Is FBNC or BUSE a better dividend stock?

First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. First Bancorp pays out 31.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. First Busey has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to FBNC or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 2 more articles in the media than First Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for First Busey and 2 mentions for First Bancorp. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.12 beat First Bancorp's score of 0.32 indicating that First Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend FBNC or BUSE?

First Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $33.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.23%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $25.75, suggesting a potential upside of 7.25%. Given First Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than First Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer FBNC or BUSE?

First Bancorp received 32 more outperform votes than First Busey when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.13% of users gave First Bancorp an outperform vote while only 54.63% of users gave First Busey an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Bancorp	Outperform Votes 404 63.13%	Underperform Votes 236 36.88%
First Busey	Outperform Votes 372 54.63%	Underperform Votes 309 45.37%

Do insiders and institutionals believe in FBNC or BUSE?

68.4% of First Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of First Busey shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has better valuation and earnings, FBNC or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than First Bancorp. First Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Busey, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Bancorp	$546.25M	2.46	$104.13M	$2.77	11.77
First Busey	$601.76M	2.26	$122.57M	$1.98	12.13

Which has more risk and volatility, FBNC or BUSE?

First Bancorp has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FBNC or BUSE more profitable?

First Bancorp has a net margin of 20.58% compared to First Bancorp's net margin of 18.08%. First Bancorp's return on equity of 9.37% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bancorp	20.58%	8.62%	0.95%
First Busey	18.08%	9.37%	0.95%

Summary

First Busey beats First Bancorp on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.