FS Bancorp (FSBW) Competitors

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, media sentiment, earnings and institutional ownership.

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

63.9% of FS Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.7% of FS Bancorp 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 stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is FSBW or BUSE more profitable?

FS Bancorp has a net margin of 15.88% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. FS Bancorp's return on equity of 11.35% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FS Bancorp	15.88%	11.35%	1.11%
First Busey	9.48%	9.76%	1.11%

Do analysts rate FSBW or BUSE?

FS Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $44.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.28%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.17, indicating a potential upside of 22.76%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than FS Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FS Bancorp	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

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, FSBW or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than FS Bancorp. FS Bancorp 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
FS Bancorp	$206.39M	1.41	$35.02M	$4.21	8.99
First Busey	$663.36M	2.99	$113.69M	$1.12	19.76

Which has more risk and volatility, FSBW or BUSE?

FS Bancorp has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% 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.

Is FSBW or BUSE a better dividend stock?

FS Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. FS Bancorp pays out 26.6% 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. FS Bancorp has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Does the media refer more to FSBW or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 14 more articles in the media than FS Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for First Busey and 4 mentions for FS Bancorp. FS Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.23 beat First Busey's score of 0.77 indicating that FS Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
FS Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 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)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

First Busey beats FS Bancorp on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.