Stellarone (STEL) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, STEL or BUSE?

Stellarone has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is STEL or BUSE more profitable?

Stellarone has a net margin of 18.80% compared to First Busey's net margin of 8.32%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.46% beat Stellarone's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stellarone	18.80%	7.43%	1.09%
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%

Is STEL or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Stellarone pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Stellarone pays out 25.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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. Stellarone has increased its dividend for 1 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.

Do analysts rate STEL or BUSE?

Stellarone presently has a consensus target price of $29.00, indicating a potential downside of 4.21%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 15.47%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than Stellarone.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stellarone	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
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 STEL or BUSE?

54.2% of Stellarone shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.9% of Stellarone 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.

Does the media favor STEL or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 11 more articles in the media than Stellarone. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for First Busey and 0 mentions for Stellarone. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Stellarone's score of 0.00 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Stellarone	Neutral
First Busey	Positive

Which has better valuation and earnings, STEL or BUSE?

Stellarone has higher earnings, but lower revenue than First Busey. Stellarone 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
Stellarone	$625.45M	2.58	$117.61M	$2.20	13.76
First Busey	$663.36M	3.23	$113.69M	$1.07	22.39

Summary

First Busey beats Stellarone on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.