Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH) Competitors

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

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, BUSE or WASH?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Washington Trust Bancorp. Washington Trust Bancorp 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	3.21	$113.69M	$1.12	21.35
Washington Trust Bancorp	$403.73M	1.40	-$28.06M	-$1.51	-19.55

Do insiders and institutionals believe in BUSE or WASH?

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.8% of Washington Trust Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Washington Trust Bancorp shares are held 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 BUSE or WASH a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Washington Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.6%. 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. Washington Trust Bancorp pays out -148.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Washington Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Is BUSE or WASH more profitable?

First Busey has a net margin of 9.48% compared to Washington Trust Bancorp's net margin of -6.10%. Washington Trust Bancorp's return on equity of 9.05% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Washington Trust Bancorp	-6.10%	9.05%	0.68%

Do analysts prefer BUSE or WASH?

First Busey presently has a consensus price target of $27.17, indicating a potential upside of 13.62%. Washington Trust Bancorp has a consensus price target of $29.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.76%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than Washington Trust Bancorp.

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
Washington Trust Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Does the media favor BUSE or WASH?

In the previous week, First Busey had 8 more articles in the media than Washington Trust Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for First Busey and 6 mentions for Washington Trust Bancorp. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.60 beat Washington Trust Bancorp's score of 1.39 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	13 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Washington Trust Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, BUSE or WASH?

First Busey has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Washington Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Busey beats Washington Trust Bancorp on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.