Mercantile Bank (MBWM) Competitors

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

Do analysts prefer BUSE or MBWM?

First Busey currently has a consensus target price of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 11.07%. Mercantile Bank has a consensus target price of $55.25, suggesting a potential upside of 15.78%. Given Mercantile Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Mercantile Bank is more favorable than First Busey.

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
Mercantile Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is BUSE or MBWM more profitable?

Mercantile Bank has a net margin of 22.11% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Mercantile Bank's return on equity of 13.52% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Mercantile Bank	22.11%	13.52%	1.34%

Does the media refer more to BUSE or MBWM?

In the previous week, First Busey had 7 more articles in the media than Mercantile Bank. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for First Busey and 3 mentions for Mercantile Bank. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.77 beat Mercantile Bank's score of 1.73 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Mercantile Bank	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, BUSE or MBWM?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Mercantile Bank. Mercantile Bank 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	3.30	$113.69M	$1.12	21.97
Mercantile Bank	$361.89M	2.14	$79.59M	$5.04	9.47

Is BUSE or MBWM a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Mercantile Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.52 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. Mercantile Bank pays out 30.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Mercantile Bank has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of BUSE or MBWM?

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.6% of Mercantile Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Mercantile Bank shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, BUSE or MBWM?

First Busey has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mercantile Bank has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Mercantile Bank beats First Busey on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.