Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) Competitors

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

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 3.6%. 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. Westamerica Bancorporation pays out 36.9% 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.

Do analysts recommend BUSE or WABC?

First Busey currently has a consensus target price of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 14.22%. Westamerica Bancorporation has a consensus target price of $52.50, indicating a potential upside of 2.40%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly 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)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more risk and volatility, BUSE or WABC?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westamerica Bancorporation has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation and 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	$663.36M	3.27	$113.69M	$1.07	22.64
Westamerica Bancorporation	$311.17M	4.31	$138.64M	$4.99	10.27

Is BUSE or WABC more profitable?

Westamerica Bancorporation has a net margin of 44.10% compared to First Busey's net margin of 8.32%. Westamerica Bancorporation's return on equity of 14.95% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%
Westamerica Bancorporation	44.10%	14.95%	2.16%

Does the media favor BUSE or WABC?

In the previous week, First Busey had 3 more articles in the media than Westamerica Bancorporation. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for First Busey and 3 mentions for Westamerica Bancorporation. Westamerica Bancorporation's average media sentiment score of 1.00 beat First Busey's score of 0.41 indicating that Westamerica Bancorporation is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

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

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in BUSE or WABC?

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.9% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Westamerica Bancorporation beats First Busey on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.