Bridgewater Bancshares (BWB) Competitors

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) and Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, risk and earnings.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, BUSE or BWB?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Bridgewater Bancshares. Bridgewater Bancshares 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	3.35	$113.69M	$1.12	22.25
Bridgewater Bancshares	$253.27M	1.88	$32.83M	$1.22	14.17

Do analysts prefer BUSE or BWB?

First Busey presently has a consensus target price of $27.33, indicating a potential upside of 9.66%. Bridgewater Bancshares has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.70%. Given Bridgewater Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bridgewater Bancshares is more favorable than First Busey.

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
Bridgewater Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is BUSE or BWB more profitable?

Bridgewater Bancshares has a net margin of 14.03% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Bridgewater Bancshares' return on equity of 9.73% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Bridgewater Bancshares	14.03%	9.73%	0.77%

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in BUSE or BWB?

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.8% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.3% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, BUSE or BWB?

First Busey has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridgewater Bancshares has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor BUSE or BWB?

In the previous week, First Busey had 6 more articles in the media than Bridgewater Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for First Busey and 1 mentions for Bridgewater Bancshares. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.85 beat Bridgewater Bancshares' score of 1.24 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	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Bridgewater Bancshares	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

First Busey beats Bridgewater Bancshares on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.