Carter Bankshares (CARE) Competitors

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) and Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in BUSE or CARE?

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.5% of Carter Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Carter Bankshares 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 CARE more profitable?

Carter Bankshares has a net margin of 11.20% compared to First Busey's net margin of 8.32%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.46% beat Carter Bankshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%
Carter Bankshares	11.20%	6.70%	0.56%

Which has more volatility & risk, BUSE or CARE?

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

Does the media prefer BUSE or CARE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 17 more articles in the media than Carter Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for First Busey and 0 mentions for Carter Bankshares. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.57 beat Carter Bankshares' score of 0.29 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	Positive
Carter Bankshares	Neutral

Do analysts recommend BUSE or CARE?

First Busey presently has a consensus target price of $27.67, suggesting a potential upside of 15.09%. Carter Bankshares has a consensus target price of $21.50, suggesting a potential upside of 20.25%. Given Carter Bankshares' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Carter Bankshares 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
Carter Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, BUSE or CARE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Carter Bankshares. Carter Bankshares 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	3.24	$113.69M	$1.07	22.47
Carter Bankshares	$243.10M	1.70	$24.27M	$1.20	14.90

Summary

First Busey beats Carter Bankshares on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.