SmartFinancial (SMBK) Competitors

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) 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 earnings, media sentiment, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Which has more risk and volatility, SMBK or BUSE?

SmartFinancial has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is SMBK or BUSE a better dividend stock?

SmartFinancial pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. SmartFinancial pays out 13.0% 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. SmartFinancial has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and First Busey has increased 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.

Does the media favor SMBK or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 7 more articles in the media than SmartFinancial. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for First Busey and 1 mentions for SmartFinancial. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.03 beat SmartFinancial's score of -0.25 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

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

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, SMBK or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than SmartFinancial. SmartFinancial 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
SmartFinancial	$187.06M	3.14	$36.14M	$2.47	13.98
First Busey	$663.36M	3.02	$113.69M	$1.12	20.06

Do analysts rate SMBK or BUSE?

SmartFinancial currently has a consensus price target of $38.25, suggesting a potential upside of 10.81%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 21.64%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than SmartFinancial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SmartFinancial	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Do institutionals and insiders believe in SMBK or BUSE?

58.8% of SmartFinancial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of SmartFinancial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is SMBK or BUSE more profitable?

SmartFinancial has a net margin of 12.67% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.76% beat SmartFinancial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SmartFinancial	12.67%	7.33%	0.71%
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%

Summary

First Busey beats SmartFinancial on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.