Columbia Financial (CLBK) Competitors

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

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, BUSE or CLBK?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Columbia Financial. First Busey is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Columbia Financial, 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	3.28	$113.69M	$1.12	21.82
Columbia Financial	$199.64M	8.04	-$11.65M	$0.06	255.00

Do analysts rate BUSE or CLBK?

First Busey currently has a consensus price target of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 11.84%. Columbia Financial has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.58%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than Columbia Financial.

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
Columbia Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is BUSE or CLBK more profitable?

First Busey has a net margin of 9.48% compared to Columbia Financial's net margin of 1.24%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.76% beat Columbia Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Columbia Financial	1.24%	3.58%	0.37%

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

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.7% of Columbia Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Columbia Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer BUSE or CLBK?

In the previous week, Columbia Financial had 2 more articles in the media than First Busey. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Columbia Financial and 4 mentions for First Busey. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.77 beat Columbia Financial's score of 0.94 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	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Columbia Financial	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, BUSE or CLBK?

First Busey has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Financial has a beta of 0.32, suggesting that its share price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Busey beats Columbia Financial on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.