First Busey (BUSE) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend BUSE or FFBC?

First Busey currently has a consensus price target of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 15.47%. First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus price target of $28.75, indicating a potential upside of 12.97%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than First Financial Bancorp..

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
First Financial Bancorp.	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Do insiders & institutionals believe in BUSE or FFBC?

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is BUSE or FFBC more profitable?

First Financial Bancorp. has a net margin of 18.65% compared to First Busey's net margin of 8.32%. First Financial Bancorp.'s return on equity of 10.44% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%
First Financial Bancorp.	18.65%	10.44%	1.38%

Which has more volatility & risk, BUSE or FFBC?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better valuation & earnings, BUSE or FFBC?

First Financial Bancorp. has higher revenue and earnings than First Busey. First Financial 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 Busey	$663.36M	3.23	$113.69M	$1.07	22.39
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.62B	1.50	$228.83M	$2.41	10.56

Does the media favor BUSE or FFBC?

In the previous week, First Busey had 11 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for First Busey and 2 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. First Financial Bancorp.'s average media sentiment score of 1.89 beat First Busey's score of 1.02 indicating that First Financial Bancorp. is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

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

Is BUSE or FFBC a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Busey pays out 93.5% 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 Financial Bancorp. pays out 39.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and First Financial Bancorp. has raised 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.

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats First Busey on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.