Equity Bancshares (EQBK) Competitors

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

Is EQBK or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Equity Bancshares pays out 14.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey pays out 89.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equity Bancshares has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, EQBK or BUSE?

Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, EQBK or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Equity Bancshares. Equity 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
Equity Bancshares	$228.94M	2.80	$62.62M	$4.03	9.07
First Busey	$663.36M	2.99	$113.69M	$1.12	19.76

Do analysts recommend EQBK or BUSE?

Equity Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $47.80, suggesting a potential upside of 30.83%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.17, suggesting a potential upside of 22.76%. Given Equity Bancshares' higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Equity Bancshares is more favorable than First Busey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
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 EQBK or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 15 more articles in the media than Equity Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for First Busey and 1 mentions for Equity Bancshares. Equity Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.95 beat First Busey's score of 0.77 indicating that Equity Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Equity Bancshares	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is EQBK or BUSE more profitable?

Equity Bancshares has a net margin of 18.66% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Equity Bancshares' return on equity of 14.64% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equity Bancshares	18.66%	14.64%	1.31%
First Busey	9.48%	9.76%	1.11%

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

71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Equity Bancshares beats First Busey on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.