BUSE vs. FFBC, FRME, HWC, OBK, PPBI, STBA, TOWN, UBSI, WSBC, and FCF
Should you be buying First Busey stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of First Busey include First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC), First Merchants (FRME), Hancock Whitney (HWC), Origin Bancorp (OBK), Pacific Premier Bancorp (PPBI), S&T Bancorp (STBA), Towne Bank (TOWN), United Bankshares (UBSI), WesBanco (WSBC), and First Commonwealth Financial (FCF). These companies are all part of the "finance" sector.
First Busey vs. Its Competitors
First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) and First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and media sentiment.
First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. 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 Financial Bancorp. pays out 38.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years and First Financial Bancorp. 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.
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.
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 hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
First Financial Bancorp. has a net margin of 19.41% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. First Financial Bancorp.'s return on equity of 10.57% beat First Busey's return on equity.
First Busey presently has a consensus price target of $27.33, indicating a potential upside of 11.86%. First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus price target of $29.40, indicating a potential upside of 12.79%. Given First Financial Bancorp.'s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Financial Bancorp. is more favorable than First Busey.
First Busey has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.
In the previous week, First Busey had 12 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for First Busey and 6 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.50 beat First Financial Bancorp.'s score of 1.12 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the media.
Summary
First Financial Bancorp. beats First Busey on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding BUSE and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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This page (NASDAQ:BUSE) was last updated on 9/2/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff