West Bancorporation (WTBA) Competitors

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

Do institutionals and insiders believe in BUSE or WTBA?

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.3% of West Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of West Bancorporation shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, BUSE or WTBA?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than West Bancorporation. West 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	3.14	$113.69M	$1.07	21.75
West Bancorporation	$83.15M	3.83	$24.05M	$1.54	12.21

Does the media favor BUSE or WTBA?

In the previous week, First Busey had 19 more articles in the media than West Bancorporation. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for First Busey and 7 mentions for West Bancorporation. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.79 beat West Bancorporation's score of 0.51 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	11 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
West Bancorporation	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is BUSE or WTBA a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. West Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. 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. West Bancorporation pays out 64.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. West Bancorporation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Is BUSE or WTBA more profitable?

West Bancorporation has a net margin of 13.04% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. West Bancorporation's return on equity of 11.28% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	9.76%	1.11%
West Bancorporation	13.04%	11.28%	0.65%

Do analysts rate BUSE or WTBA?

First Busey presently has a consensus price target of $27.17, indicating a potential upside of 16.74%. West Bancorporation has a consensus price target of $21.50, indicating a potential upside of 14.36%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than West 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
West Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more risk & volatility, BUSE or WTBA?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Bancorporation has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

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