Lakeland Financial (LKFN) Competitors

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

Which has more risk & volatility, BUSE or LKFN?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lakeland Financial has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BUSE or LKFN more profitable?

Lakeland Financial has a net margin of 22.55% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Lakeland Financial's return on equity of 13.57% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Lakeland Financial	22.55%	13.57%	1.39%

Does the media prefer BUSE or LKFN?

In the previous week, First Busey had 1 more articles in the media than Lakeland Financial. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for First Busey and 3 mentions for Lakeland Financial. Lakeland Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.83 beat First Busey's score of 0.62 indicating that Lakeland 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)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Lakeland Financial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is BUSE or LKFN a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Lakeland Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. 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. Lakeland Financial pays out 54.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Lakeland Financial has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Do analysts recommend BUSE or LKFN?

First Busey currently has a consensus price target of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 20.19%. Lakeland Financial has a consensus price target of $70.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.32%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than Lakeland Financial.

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
Lakeland Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has higher valuation and earnings, BUSE or LKFN?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Lakeland Financial. Lakeland 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	3.05	$113.69M	$1.12	20.30
Lakeland Financial	$430M	3.67	$93.48M	$3.67	16.83

Summary

First Busey beats Lakeland Financial on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.