Peapack-Gladstone Financial (PGC) Competitors

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

Does the media refer more to PGC or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 13 more articles in the media than Peapack-Gladstone Financial. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for First Busey and 3 mentions for Peapack-Gladstone Financial. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.61 beat Peapack-Gladstone Financial's score of 1.37 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do insiders & institutionals believe in PGC or BUSE?

72.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 7.6% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts rate PGC or BUSE?

Peapack-Gladstone Financial currently has a consensus target price of $36.33, indicating a potential upside of 25.72%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.17, indicating a potential upside of 10.03%. Given Peapack-Gladstone Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Peapack-Gladstone Financial is more favorable than First Busey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.33
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has more volatility & risk, PGC or BUSE?

Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, PGC or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Peapack-Gladstone Financial. Peapack-Gladstone 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
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	$248.28M	2.05	$32.99M	$1.83	15.79
First Busey	$663.36M	3.32	$113.69M	$1.12	22.04

Is PGC or BUSE more profitable?

First Busey has a net margin of 9.48% compared to Peapack-Gladstone Financial's net margin of 7.62%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.76% beat Peapack-Gladstone Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	7.62%	5.25%	0.46%
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%

Is PGC or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays out 10.9% 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. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

First Busey beats Peapack-Gladstone Financial on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.