Republic Bancorp (RBCAA) Competitors

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

Which has more risk & volatility, RBCAA or BUSE?

Republic Bancorp has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, RBCAA or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Republic Bancorp. Republic 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
Republic Bancorp	$505.64M	2.64	$101.37M	$6.38	10.72
First Busey	$663.36M	2.98	$113.69M	$1.12	19.83

Do analysts recommend RBCAA or BUSE?

Republic Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $69.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.92%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.17, suggesting a potential upside of 22.30%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than Republic Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Republic Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

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

24.4% of Republic Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 56.4% of Republic 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 hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is RBCAA or BUSE more profitable?

Republic Bancorp has a net margin of 23.98% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Republic Bancorp's return on equity of 12.41% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Republic Bancorp	23.98%	12.41%	1.81%
First Busey	9.48%	9.76%	1.11%

Does the media prefer RBCAA or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 3 more articles in the media than Republic Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for First Busey and 5 mentions for Republic Bancorp. Republic Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.14 beat First Busey's score of -0.44 indicating that Republic Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Republic Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
First Busey	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is RBCAA or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Republic Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Republic Bancorp pays out 28.2% 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. Republic Bancorp has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years and First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Summary

First Busey beats Republic Bancorp on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.