First Merchants (FRME) Competitors

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

Is BUSE or FRME more profitable?

First Merchants has a net margin of 19.63% compared to First Busey's net margin of 8.32%. First Merchants' return on equity of 9.28% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%
First Merchants	19.63%	9.28%	1.14%

Does the media favor BUSE or FRME?

In the previous week, First Busey had 9 more articles in the media than First Merchants. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for First Busey and 5 mentions for First Merchants. First Merchants' average media sentiment score of 1.46 beat First Busey's score of 1.11 indicating that First Merchants is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Merchants	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is BUSE or FRME a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Busey pays out 93.5% 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 Merchants pays out 40.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and First Merchants has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Do analysts prefer BUSE or FRME?

First Busey currently has a consensus target price of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 13.30%. First Merchants has a consensus target price of $46.40, indicating a potential upside of 11.19%. Given First Busey's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than First Merchants.

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
First Merchants	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Which has better earnings and valuation, BUSE or FRME?

First Merchants has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Busey. First Merchants 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	3.29	$113.69M	$1.07	22.82
First Merchants	$633.33M	3.84	$201.40M	$3.56	11.72

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

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.9% of First Merchants shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of First Merchants shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, BUSE or FRME?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Merchants has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Merchants beats First Busey on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.