Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) Competitors

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Is WABC or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Westamerica Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Westamerica Bancorporation pays out 40.1% 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. Westamerica Bancorporation has increased its dividend for 34 consecutive years and First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Do analysts prefer WABC or BUSE?

Westamerica Bancorporation currently has a consensus price target of $52.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.96%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 18.08%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than Westamerica Bancorporation.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westamerica Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Does the media favor WABC or BUSE?

In the previous week, Westamerica Bancorporation had 4 more articles in the media than First Busey. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Westamerica Bancorporation and 3 mentions for First Busey. Westamerica Bancorporation's average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat First Busey's score of 0.35 indicating that Westamerica Bancorporation is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Westamerica Bancorporation	1 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
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

Is WABC or BUSE more profitable?

Westamerica Bancorporation has a net margin of 43.19% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Westamerica Bancorporation's return on equity of 13.10% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westamerica Bancorporation	43.19%	13.10%	2.02%
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, WABC or BUSE?

Westamerica Bancorporation has higher earnings, but lower revenue than First Busey. Westamerica Bancorporation 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
Westamerica Bancorporation	$311.17M	3.87	$138.64M	$4.59	10.30
First Busey	$663.36M	3.11	$113.69M	$1.12	20.67

Do institutionals & insiders believe in WABC or BUSE?

81.9% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Westamerica Bancorporation 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 endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility and risk, WABC or BUSE?

Westamerica Bancorporation has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

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