First Community Bancshares (FCBC) Competitors

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

Is FCBC or BUSE more profitable?

First Community Bancshares has a net margin of 27.07% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. First Busey's return on equity of 9.76% beat First Community Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Community Bancshares	27.07%	9.68%	1.54%
First Busey	9.48%	9.76%	1.11%

Do analysts rate FCBC or BUSE?

First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.17, indicating a potential upside of 21.14%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than First Community Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Community Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the media favor FCBC or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 7 more articles in the media than First Community Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for First Busey and 0 mentions for First Community Bancshares. First Community Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.00 beat First Busey's score of -0.47 indicating that First Community Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Community Bancshares	Neutral
First Busey	Neutral

Is FCBC or BUSE a better dividend stock?

First Community Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. First Community Bancshares pays out 45.4% 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. First Community Bancshares has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years and First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Which has more risk and volatility, FCBC or BUSE?

First Community Bancshares has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, FCBC or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than First Community Bancshares. First Community 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 Community Bancshares	$185.53M	3.47	$51.60M	$2.73	12.86
First Busey	$663.36M	3.01	$113.69M	$1.12	20.02

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

35.0% of First Community Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Community 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 is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

First Busey beats First Community Bancshares on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.