HBT Financial (HBT) Competitors

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

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

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of HBT Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 59.7% of HBT Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is BUSE or HBT more profitable?

HBT Financial has a net margin of 26.22% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. HBT Financial's return on equity of 13.98% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
HBT Financial	26.22%	13.98%	1.55%

Does the media favor BUSE or HBT?

In the previous week, First Busey had 1 more articles in the media than HBT Financial. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for First Busey and 7 mentions for HBT Financial. HBT Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.64 beat First Busey's score of 0.53 indicating that HBT Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

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

Is BUSE or HBT a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. HBT Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. 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. HBT Financial pays out 34.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and HBT Financial has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, BUSE or HBT?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HBT Financial has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer BUSE or HBT?

First Busey presently has a consensus price target of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 17.21%. HBT Financial has a consensus price target of $28.80, suggesting a potential upside of 19.75%. Given HBT Financial's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe HBT Financial is more favorable than First Busey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
HBT Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Which has higher valuation and earnings, BUSE or HBT?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than HBT Financial. HBT 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
First Busey	$663.36M	3.13	$113.69M	$1.12	20.82
HBT Financial	$287.27M	2.64	$71.78M	$2.42	9.94

Summary

HBT Financial beats First Busey on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.