First Busey (BUSE) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, BUSE or TCBK?

First Busey has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TriCo Bancshares has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer BUSE or TCBK?

First Busey presently has a consensus price target of $27.25, indicating a potential downside of 4.08%. TriCo Bancshares has a consensus price target of $42.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.80%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than TriCo Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
TriCo Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

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

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.1% of TriCo Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.1% of First Busey shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of TriCo Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer BUSE or TCBK?

In the previous week, TriCo Bancshares had 3 more articles in the media than First Busey. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for TriCo Bancshares and 10 mentions for First Busey. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.68 beat TriCo Bancshares' score of 0.56 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
TriCo Bancshares	3 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is BUSE or TCBK more profitable?

TriCo Bancshares has a net margin of 21.25% compared to First Busey's net margin of 17.18%. TriCo Bancshares' return on equity of 9.75% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	17.18%	9.26%	0.95%
TriCo Bancshares	21.25%	9.75%	1.11%

Is BUSE or TCBK a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. TriCo Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Busey pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TriCo Bancshares pays out 40.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer BUSE or TCBK?

First Busey received 123 more outperform votes than TriCo Bancshares when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 54.53% of users gave First Busey an outperform vote while only 53.88% of users gave TriCo Bancshares an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Busey	Outperform Votes 373 54.53%	Underperform Votes 311 45.47%
TriCo Bancshares	Outperform Votes 250 53.88%	Underperform Votes 214 46.12%

Which has better earnings and valuation, BUSE or TCBK?

First Busey has higher earnings, but lower revenue than TriCo Bancshares. First Busey is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TriCo Bancshares, 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	$444.45M	3.63	$122.57M	$1.98	14.35
TriCo Bancshares	$499.75M	3.16	$117.39M	$3.28	14.52

Summary

First Busey beats TriCo Bancshares on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.