Midland States Bancorp (MSBI) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, MSBI or BUSE?

Midland States Bancorp has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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

60.9% of Midland States Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Midland States 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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, MSBI or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Midland States Bancorp. Midland States 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
Midland States Bancorp	$330.13M	1.04	$38.04M	-$0.77	-20.69
First Busey	$663.36M	3.07	$113.69M	$1.12	20.41

Does the media refer more to MSBI or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 3 more articles in the media than Midland States Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for First Busey and 5 mentions for Midland States Bancorp. Midland States Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.89 beat First Busey's score of 0.53 indicating that Midland States Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Midland States Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
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

Is MSBI or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Midland States Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.0%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Midland States Bancorp pays out -166.2% 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. Midland States Bancorp has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Midland States Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Is MSBI or BUSE more profitable?

First Busey has a net margin of 9.48% compared to Midland States Bancorp's net margin of -1.50%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.76% beat Midland States Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Midland States Bancorp	-1.50%	-1.30%	-0.10%
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%

Do analysts rate MSBI or BUSE?

Midland States Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $20.75, suggesting a potential upside of 30.27%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 19.56%. Given Midland States Bancorp's higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Midland States Bancorp is more favorable than First Busey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Midland States Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.80
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Summary

First Busey beats Midland States Bancorp on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.