Arrow Financial (AROW) Competitors

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

Is AROW or BUSE more profitable?

Arrow Financial has a net margin of 13.28% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. First Busey's return on equity of 9.76% beat Arrow Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Arrow Financial	13.28%	8.69%	0.79%
First Busey	9.48%	9.76%	1.11%

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, AROW or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Arrow Financial. Arrow Financial 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
Arrow Financial	$223.07M	1.95	$29.71M	$1.83	14.30
First Busey	$663.36M	2.99	$113.69M	$1.12	19.76

Does the media favor AROW or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 16 more articles in the media than Arrow Financial. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for First Busey and 2 mentions for Arrow Financial. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.77 beat Arrow Financial's score of 0.64 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Arrow Financial	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals believe in AROW or BUSE?

46.7% of Arrow Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of Arrow Financial 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 is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, AROW or BUSE?

Arrow Financial has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate AROW or BUSE?

Arrow Financial currently has a consensus target price of $28.25, suggesting a potential upside of 7.99%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.17, suggesting a potential upside of 22.76%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than Arrow Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Arrow Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is AROW or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Arrow Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Arrow Financial pays out 61.2% 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. Arrow Financial has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years and 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.

Summary

First Busey beats Arrow Financial on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.