First Busey (BUSE) Competitors

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

Is FFBC or BUSE 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 Financial Bancorp.	18.65%	10.44%	1.38%
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%

Which has more volatility & risk, FFBC or BUSE?

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

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of FFBC or BUSE?

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

Do analysts prefer FFBC or BUSE?

First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus target price of $28.75, indicating a potential upside of 12.79%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 15.28%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than First Financial Bancorp..

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

Is FFBC or BUSE a better dividend stock?

First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 39.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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. has raised its dividend for 1 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.

Which has better earnings and valuation, FFBC or BUSE?

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 Financial Bancorp.	$1.62B	1.51	$228.83M	$2.41	10.58
First Busey	$663.36M	3.24	$113.69M	$1.07	22.43

Does the media refer more to FFBC or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 4 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for First Busey and 3 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. First Financial Bancorp.'s average media sentiment score of 0.48 beat First Busey's score of 0.26 indicating that First Financial Bancorp. is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Financial Bancorp.	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
First Busey	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

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