Peoples Bancorp (PEBO) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend BUSE or PEBO?

First Busey presently has a consensus price target of $27.33, indicating a potential upside of 17.71%. Peoples Bancorp has a consensus price target of $33.13, indicating a potential upside of 12.36%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp.

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
Peoples Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Does the media prefer BUSE or PEBO?

In the previous week, Peoples Bancorp had 24 more articles in the media than First Busey. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for Peoples Bancorp and 4 mentions for First Busey. Peoples Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.84 beat First Busey's score of 0.35 indicating that Peoples Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Peoples Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is BUSE or PEBO more profitable?

Peoples Bancorp has a net margin of 16.57% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Peoples Bancorp's return on equity of 9.45% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Peoples Bancorp	16.57%	9.45%	1.15%

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, BUSE or PEBO?

Peoples Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Busey. Peoples 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	3.12	$113.69M	$1.12	20.73
Peoples Bancorp	$620.14M	1.70	$117.21M	$2.86	10.31

Is BUSE or PEBO a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. 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. Peoples Bancorp pays out 57.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Peoples Bancorp has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Peoples Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more volatility & risk, BUSE or PEBO?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats First Busey on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.