Columbia Financial (CLBK) Competitors

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

Is CLBK or BUSE more profitable?

First Busey has a net margin of 8.32% compared to Columbia Financial's net margin of -0.32%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.46% beat Columbia Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Columbia Financial	-0.32%	2.96%	0.30%
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%

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

12.7% of Columbia Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of Columbia Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, CLBK or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Columbia Financial. Columbia Financial 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
Columbia Financial	$489.17M	3.24	-$11.65M	-$0.02	-755.00
First Busey	$663.36M	3.27	$113.69M	$1.07	22.66

Which has more risk and volatility, CLBK or BUSE?

Columbia Financial has a beta of 0.21, indicating that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer CLBK or BUSE?

Columbia Financial currently has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.96%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.67, suggesting a potential upside of 14.09%. 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
Columbia Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the media refer more to CLBK or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 7 more articles in the media than Columbia Financial. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for First Busey and 1 mentions for Columbia Financial. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.56 beat Columbia Financial's score of 0.55 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Columbia Financial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

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