Lakeland Financial (LKFN) Competitors

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

Is LKFN or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Lakeland Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Lakeland Financial pays out 57.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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. Lakeland Financial has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Which has more volatility and risk, LKFN or BUSE?

Lakeland Financial has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, LKFN or BUSE?

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
Lakeland Financial	$430M	3.88	$93.48M	$3.50	18.66
First Busey	$663.36M	3.29	$113.69M	$1.07	22.77

Do analysts recommend LKFN or BUSE?

Lakeland Financial currently has a consensus target price of $68.50, suggesting a potential upside of 4.91%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.67, suggesting a potential upside of 13.57%. Given First Busey's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than Lakeland Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lakeland Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the media refer more to LKFN or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 12 more articles in the media than Lakeland Financial. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for First Busey and 3 mentions for Lakeland Financial. Lakeland Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.54 beat First Busey's score of 0.34 indicating that Lakeland Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lakeland Financial	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is LKFN or BUSE more profitable?

Lakeland Financial has a net margin of 21.08% compared to First Busey's net margin of 8.32%. Lakeland Financial's return on equity of 12.71% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lakeland Financial	21.08%	12.71%	1.30%
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%

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

81.2% of Lakeland Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Lakeland Financial 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 will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Lakeland Financial and First Busey tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.