Midland States Bancorp (MSBI) Competitors

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

Which has higher earnings and valuation, BUSE or MSBI?

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
First Busey	$663.36M	3.15	$113.69M	$1.07	21.80
Midland States Bancorp	$489.48M	0.79	$38.04M	-$1.01	-17.82

Is BUSE or MSBI more profitable?

First Busey has a net margin of 9.48% compared to Midland States Bancorp's net margin of -2.59%. First Busey's return on equity of 9.76% beat Midland States Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	9.76%	1.11%
Midland States Bancorp	-2.59%	-1.89%	-0.16%

Do analysts recommend BUSE or MSBI?

First Busey currently has a consensus price target of $27.17, indicating a potential upside of 16.45%. Midland States Bancorp has a consensus price target of $20.67, indicating a potential upside of 14.81%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than Midland States Bancorp.

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
Midland States Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more volatility and risk, BUSE or MSBI?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Midland States Bancorp has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer BUSE or MSBI?

In the previous week, First Busey had 19 more articles in the media than Midland States Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for First Busey and 5 mentions for Midland States Bancorp. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.79 beat Midland States Bancorp's score of -0.08 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)	3 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Midland States Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

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

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.9% of Midland States Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Midland States Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is BUSE or MSBI a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Midland States Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. 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. Midland States Bancorp pays out -122.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Midland States Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Midland States Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

First Busey beats Midland States Bancorp on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.