Amerant Bancorp (AMTB) Competitors

Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, media sentiment, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Do analysts rate AMTB or BUSE?

Amerant Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $24.25, indicating a potential upside of 14.06%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.33, indicating a potential upside of 11.20%. Given Amerant Bancorp's higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Amerant Bancorp is more favorable than First Busey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amerant Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the media favor AMTB or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 6 more articles in the media than Amerant Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for First Busey and 8 mentions for Amerant Bancorp. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Amerant Bancorp's score of 1.33 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Amerant Bancorp	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AMTB or BUSE more profitable?

First Busey has a net margin of 9.48% compared to Amerant Bancorp's net margin of -8.38%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.76% beat Amerant Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amerant Bancorp	-8.38%	6.36%	0.51%
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%

Is AMTB or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Amerant Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Amerant Bancorp pays out -180.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey pays out 89.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, AMTB or BUSE?

Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in AMTB or BUSE?

42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, AMTB or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Amerant Bancorp. Amerant 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
Amerant Bancorp	$330.31M	2.69	-$15.75M	-$0.20	-106.30
First Busey	$663.36M	3.30	$113.69M	$1.12	21.95

Summary

First Busey beats Amerant Bancorp on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.