Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) Competitors

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

Is BUSE or WABC more profitable?

Westamerica Bancorporation has a net margin of 43.69% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Westamerica Bancorporation's return on equity of 13.81% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Westamerica Bancorporation	43.69%	13.81%	2.09%

Is BUSE or WABC a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Westamerica Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. 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 pays out 38.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Westamerica Bancorporation has raised its dividend for 34 consecutive years.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, BUSE or WABC?

Westamerica Bancorporation has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
First Busey	$557.44M	3.93	$113.69M	$1.12	21.97
Westamerica Bancorporation	$274.65M	4.51	$138.64M	$4.78	10.17

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

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.9% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by 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.

Does the media favor BUSE or WABC?

In the previous week, First Busey had 4 more articles in the media than Westamerica Bancorporation. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for First Busey and 5 mentions for Westamerica Bancorporation. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.76 beat Westamerica Bancorporation's score of 1.01 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Westamerica Bancorporation	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend BUSE or WABC?

First Busey presently has a consensus price target of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 11.07%. Westamerica Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $52.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.95%. 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
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Westamerica Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more risk & volatility, BUSE or WABC?

First Busey has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westamerica Bancorporation has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Westamerica Bancorporation beats First Busey on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.