WSBF vs. BUSE, CTBI, FMBH, GSBC, MOFG, NFBK, STBA, THFF, TOWN, and TMP
Should you be buying Waterstone Financial stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Waterstone Financial include First Busey (BUSE), Community Trust Bancorp (CTBI), First Mid Bancshares (FMBH), Great Southern Bancorp (GSBC), MidWestOne Financial Group (MOFG), Northfield Bancorp (NFBK), S&T Bancorp (STBA), First Financial Corporation Indiana (THFF), Towne Bank (TOWN), and Tompkins Financial (TMP). These companies are all part of the "finance" sector.
Waterstone Financial vs. Its Competitors
Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.
Waterstone Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Waterstone Financial pays out 52.6% 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. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Waterstone Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
In the previous week, First Busey had 13 more articles in the media than Waterstone Financial. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for First Busey and 3 mentions for Waterstone Financial. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.93 beat Waterstone Financial's score of 0.91 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.
62.7% of Waterstone Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.4% of Waterstone Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Waterstone Financial. Waterstone Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Busey, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Waterstone Financial has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% 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.
First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 16.84%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than Waterstone Financial.
Waterstone Financial has a net margin of 10.47% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. First Busey's return on equity of 9.76% beat Waterstone Financial's return on equity.
Summary
First Busey beats Waterstone Financial on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding WSBF and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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Waterstone Financial Competitors List
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This page (NASDAQ:WSBF) was last updated on 7/24/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff